Erik ten Hag has stressed that it will take time for Wout Weghorst to adapt to life at Manchester United after the Dutchman failed to make a major impact on his debut against Crystal Palace.
Weghorst, 30, became the Red Devils' second signing of the January transfer window when he joined the club on a six-month loan deal from Burnley over the weekend and was handed his debut on Wednesday night at Selhurst Park.
But the former Wolfsberg man struggled to make an impact for United, who dropped points in the title race after Michael Olise cancelled out Bruno Fernandes' opener with a stunning last-gasp equaliser.
Weghorst was withdrawn after 70 minutes and failed to make much of an impact against Palace but he did create space for Fernandes to break the deadlock in the first half with a well-timed near post run.
Speaking after the match, Ten Hag insisted that he was happy with Weghorst's start and predicted that there will be plenty more to come once he is fully up to speed.
The United chief told Sky Sports: "I think he did quite well. He has to make adjustments to our game. He doesn’t know our way of play. He only had a short briefing and last training, no games, a couple of days."
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Weghorst will be eager to make a good impression at United after scoring just twice in 20 games during his previous stint in the Premier League with Burnley last season.
In spite of his subdued form for the Clarets, Weghorst caught the eye for the Netherlands at the World Cup, scoring twice in their quarter-final defeat against Argentina, and netted nine goals in 18 matches for Besiktas before he was lured to Old Trafford.
Ten Hag's decision to thrust Weghorst into the action just days after signing at Old Trafford raised eyebrows in some quarters, but the Dutchman insisted that he was keen to integrate the big striker as soon as possible and lauded Weghorst's link-up play.
Speaking to Manchester United's official website, Ten Hag added: "I thought it [starting Weghorst] was the best choice, as he has a profile of a number nine and I thought he did well.
''He had good link-up play and he made a good run for the first goal with a front-post run by taking two players out. He helped Bruno [Fernandes] be free. Also in [the] pressing, you can see it was a good debut.''
David de Gea was also full of praise for Weghorst after the match. The Spanish shot-stopper said: "He did really well. On set pieces he is a big lad, he helps us in both areas and I think it was a great debut."
