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See how Wout Weghorst showed promising signs on his Manchester United debut.
Wednesday night’s 1-1 Premier League tie between Manchester United and Crystal Palace marked Wout Weghorst’s first start for the club, and he made a good first impression.
Having missed out on international teammate Cody Gakpo, Weghorst was the surprise choice for United in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo’s messy departure in November.
The towering Dutchman spent the first half of the season with Besiktas in Turkey but is now back in England on loan from Burnley, where he scored only twice in 20 games after joining from Wolfsburg for £20 million a year ago.
However, the situation Weghorst is in at United is very different. The Red Devils have made significant progress under Erik ten Hag, have a distinct identity for the first time in a long time, and are on the verge of mounting significant challenges despite the fact that they are still far from being a polished product.
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Weghorst has already stated that he believes he will fit well into Ten Hag’s style since he likes to press from the front and demonstrated the kind of impact he can have during his 69 minutes on the field at Selhurst Park. Weghorst chose the number 27 after his arrival because 2+7=9.
With Anthony Martial out, this looked like a player keen to impress and seemingly with a point to prove in English football. He was alert and sharp in and around the box, showed the desire to sniff out chances and impacted the game with intelligent movement as much as he did actually with the ball.
Even though Weghorst wasn’t involved in the play that resulted in United’s goal through Bruno Fernandes, the goal probably wouldn’t have been possible without him.
Weghorst made a run in the penalty area that caused many Crystal Palace players to move out of position as he followed him, creating a fantastic opening for Fernandes to enter the game as the ball was pushed wide and into the path of the advancing Christian Eriksen. With no one in his immediate vicinity and the goal looming large, the Portuguese could hardly miss from there.
Weghorst may not even need to score goals to be a valuable player for the team, aside from the obvious aerial threat he presents given his height.