Ten Hag responsible for Weghorst Man Utd failure

Ronan Murphy

• Updated: 4 Apr 2023 07:20 BST
• 4 min read

Wout Weghorst was rightly panned for his display in the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle on Sunday.

Manchester United looked out of sorts against a Magpies side who knew their blueprint inside out and were able to dominate at St James’ Park.

Man Utd were trying to funnel their attacks with the Burnley loanee acting as a provider to the flanks but the system did not work. Nor did Weghorst, who was brought in as Cristiano Ronaldo's replacement, look very physically imposing. Indeed, these were all the attributes he was brought in to excel at – but he has failed to prove his credentials far.

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The Glazers have plenty of shortcomings, but they did back Ten Hag in the summer. Of course, the number one target Frenkie de Jong did not arrive, but that was because he refused terms after the club bid for the Barcelona midfielder.

Among their purchases were Antony, who arrived for €95million, Casemiro for €70m, Lisandro Martinez for €57m, and Tyrell Malacia for €15m. It tallies to a total expenditure of €243m that Ten Hag has had. Weghorst cost Man Utd €2.96m as they had to pay to cut his loan at Besiktas short.

The summer outlay meant that there were not significant funds in January to strengthen up front despite Ronaldo's exit, reducing incomings to mere loans. Ten Hag would likely have been aware of this going into the window, begging the question as to why so much money was spent on Antony on the wing when the centre-forward position was left spare?

Ronaldo replacement

Ronaldo was let go halfway through the season after his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan. The club thought that they would be getting him to lead the line but his decline in performances and attitude forced an exit. Ten Hag could not have foreseen that, but regardless of Ronaldo’s departure, he must have known he was going into the winter window effectively cashless. It was a gamble he took upon himself, and it’s left the club with Weghorst up front.

The Champions League once seemed almost a certainty – but even that now seems a bit bleak, especially with Newcastle’s form and the trajectory of Brighton, as well as potential challenges from Liverpool and Tottenham, prompting concerns whether there has been too much credence given to Ten Hag.

Given the squad’s value and how much was spent in the summer window, the club shouldn't be having this atrocious away form, which has seen United lose six of their nine away games against the top nine sides in the Premier League.

The mistake doesn’t lie with Weghorst, it more lies with the purchase of Antony, using money that should have been saved and spent on two players for the forward line instead of one overpriced youngster who cannot solve all of United's problems.