Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville found it difficult to decide who he would prefer to spearhead the club's forward line out of Wout Weghorst and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Weghorst, who joined United on loan for the remainder of the season from Championship side Burnley in January, has faced a wave of criticism in the aftermath of Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United. The Dutchman, for the second Premier League game running, registered a paltry ten touches of the ball before being substituted after 62 minutes.
Despite his ongoing struggles, he remains at the forefront of Erik ten Hag's plans and has started every game he has been available for since his January arrival. He has scored just two goals in 19 matches, meaning questions have been understandably raised about his suitability.
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However, appearing on Monday Night Football, Neville used a stat chart to show the differences in statistics between the Dutchman and former United striker Ronaldo. The data showed that Weghorst has had a bigger influence on the team since he joined the club than Ronaldo had in his last 19 starts for the Reds.
"Since Sunday that seems to have been a moment, he has played basically every moment since coming in," Neville told Sky Sports. "I called him a placeholder because United didn't invest in a striker United would want.
"This experiment has to stop, Weghorst has to come out, it can no longer go on, the reason he continues to play and why Ronaldo is no longer at the club, you see his 19 starts against Ronaldo's 19 starts.
"Weghorst has 12 wins, four draws, three defeats, he has only scored two goals but the team has scored 37 goals, with Ronaldo it was 19 starts, they won three less games, drew three, lost four more with him in the team, he scored 11 but the team itself only scored 23, they are massive differences.
"It is the strangeness of football, having a player who isn't good enough to be a Manchester United forward but has brought more profit to the team. I believe he (Ronaldo) is the greatest player of all-time."
Neville continued: "I think ultimately the reason he left Ronaldo out was because of the stats, I think it is clear Weghorst isn't fit to lace Ronaldo's boots but those are stark stats playing in the same period with the same team-mates, he was really poor on Sunday, he shouldn't be there, but the reason he is there is because of those stats."
Fellow pundit Jamie Carragher then put a question to Neville, asking the him if he feels Weghorst is a better fit for United than Ronaldo was.
Avoiding a definitive answer, the former United defender added: "I don't think either of them at this moment in time should play for Man United. It is more important who Ten Hag picks.
"I don't know (who I would pick out of Ronaldo and Weghorst). Ronaldo now is playing in Saudi Arabia, he left, that was a provocative chart, I put the chart up because of why Ten Hag continues to pick him.
"I don't know who I would pick, you would move it game to game. If I was playing at Old Trafford I'd play Ronaldo, away from home probably Weghorst."
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