Erik ten Hag insists Manchester United perform better when Wout Weghorst plays

Erik ten Hag jumped into the defense of Wout Weghorst, just days after Ruud Gullit claimed the Dutchman was “not good enough” to play for Manchester United.

The former Wolfsburg and Burnley striker has scored just twice in 18 appearances in all competitions for United since being brought in to lead the line for Erik Ten Hag’s team on loan in January.

Gullit criticized Weghorst after he failed to score for the Netherlands against Gibraltar, a performance which led the Dutchman himself to criticize even his own performance.

Speaking ahead of United’s crucial top-four clash with Newcastle on Sunday, Ten Hag has spoken of Weghorst’s importance to his team.

He told reporters: ‘I think I’m happy with what Wout is doing. Because when Wout is on the team, the team is performing better.’

It comes days after Ruud Gullit claimed Weghorst was “not good enough” for the Red Devils.

His praise for Weghorst was a follow-up comment to questions about whether Scott McTominay could play as a striker after his goalscoring exploits for Scotland during the international break.

Ten Hag said, ‘He (McTominay) can play many roles. It is clear that he has scoring ability.

‘Also this season for us is a very good finisher. But I see him as a midfielder.

His lack of goalscoring form continued into the international break with the Netherlands, as he failed to find the net on any of his three shots against Gibraltar, which is ranked 200th in the world.

Instead, the goals for the Netherlands on the night came from Memphis Depay and a brace from centre-back Nathan Ake, who now has as many goals for the national team as Weghorst.

Gullit told Ziggo Sport that he always looks at Weghorst ‘in a strange way’ and that ‘from time to time you see flaws’ in the 30-year-old’s game.

Weghorst has played a regular role in United’s starting XI since joining the club on loan.

“I have a lot of admiration for him, but at the same time I think he’s not good enough for Manchester United and the Oranje,” he said.

Weghorst himself provided a brutally honest assessment of his recent performances for club and country, stating that they had been ‘s***’.

He said ESPN: ‘In the end, it’s also quality. You have to be honest about that too. You can call it bad luck, but they let me in that last ball. As a striker, you know you can score in these types of competitions.’

The Dutchman has also revealed how he has played a deeper role in support of in-form striker Marcus Rashford.

“The manager told me at half-time in the away game at Fulham that he was considering the option of playing me as a 10, behind Rashford,” he was quoted as saying. mirror.

“He told me to just keep his plan in mind because Ten Hag is a manager who places a lot of value on task-conscious play.”

Wout Weghorst couldn’t find the net for the Netherlands during their 3-0 win over Gibraltar on Tuesday

Ruud Gullit criticized Wout Weghorst and said he was not good enough to play in the Netherlands

‘The coach told me then that I had to do my part of the defensive work at the post. I’m a team player, so I replied, “That’s not a problem, boss.”

Weghorst also reflected on his goal-scoring statistics without revealing the full story of his time at United, adding: “Sometimes I think I’m doing great, but then I remember I only have two goals.”

This is also how everyone sees football. I try to teach my kids to look at things other than goals, and that works for me, too.

‘I prefer to look at what is positive. When I scored my first goal for Nottingham Forest, I said in an interview that I couldn’t wait for my first goal in a home game in front of our fans. That took a few more games, but it was a great moment for me.

Weghorst has not scored since a 4-1 win over Real Betis in the Europa League round of 16 at Old Trafford on March 9.