Striker Wout Weghorst looks forward to working with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. The thirty-year-old striker already knows somewhat what to expect from the Orange internationals who have worked with the former trainer of Ajax.
Weghorst will play for United on a rental basis for the rest of the season, because Ten Hag wanted to add an extra attacker to the selection after the transfer-free departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. The striker, who came over from Burnley, who was loaned to Besiktas, already said that scoring goals is his main goal at Old Trafford and is of course keen to win trophies with United. And that must be done under the leadership of Ten Hag.
“The players in the national team have always talked about him a lot,” says Weghorst in an interview on the club website. “The way he trains, how he lives for football and for winning games. Of course I’ve known him for a long time, but I’ve never worked with him on a serious basis like now. So it’s new for me, but I can already feel what the guys have said. I look forward to working together.”
Of the United selection, Weghorst only knew Donny van de Beek and Tyrell Malacia. He did, of course, work with Louis van Gaal for the Dutch national team. “He’s one of the best coaches I’ve had,” he said of the former United manager. “He is very honest and pure. What you see is what you get. We had a great relationship. He has a great personality and I think he’s a great trainer.”
Choice of number 27
Weghorst follows in the footsteps of strikers Ruud van Nistelrooij and Robin van Persie, whom he saw as a young boy score at Old Trafford. With his choice of number 27 – and especially the thought behind it – he follows Iván Zamorano. The Chilean goal getter of yesteryear opted for the shirt number 18 at Internazionale in the late 1990s, because Ronaldo already played with 9. And 1+8 added up to 9, Zamorano had thought.
Weghorst also made that sum when he saw that shirt number 27 was still available at United. “Two and seven together make nine and that is of course a striker number. I had a good feeling about it. I did hear it’s actually Alex Telles’ number. He is now rented out (to Sevilla, ed.), so I thought it was important to ask him if it was okay. It turned out to be no problem, so I want to thank him too,” says Weghorst.
