Former Manchester United full-back Gary Neville joked that the Reds would not have been able to sign Wout Weghorst on loan in January if he was scoring frequently.
Weghorst played the full 90 minutes as Erik ten Hag's side secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leicester at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, but the Dutchman will be frustrated to not have got on the scoresheet. The loan striker had a great chance to score in the second period, but Danny Ward was equal to his strike.
The forward, who signed on loan from Burnley in the January transfer window, has endured a difficult time at United - having scored just one goal in 10 appearances. Moreover, the 30-year-old - who played as an attacking midfielder against Barcelona in midweek - has struggled to link-up with his teammates on occasions.
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After Weghorst missed the chance to make it 4-0 to United on Sunday, former Reds defender Neville questioned why the striker was struggling to take his opportunities. He then joked that the forward would not have been available for a free loan last month if he was in red-hot form in front of goal.
"Just look at Weghorst, collapsed on his back thinking come on, give me a break," Neville said on Sky Sports commentary. "There’s a couple moments in the game where Weghorst hasn’t got to crosses and maybe could have done as well, it’s not just the clear chances that we’ve seen.
"We’ve got Jimmy Floyd-Haisselbank and Robbie Keane [in the Sky Sports studio] who were very good finishers, it’ll be interesting to see what they think. I don’t know why Weghorst isn’t taking these chances. I suppose if Weghorst was taking the chances he’d be scoring 20 goals a season and wouldn’t be available on a free loan.
"He’s doing a lot of work for the team, I imagine he’s very popular with his teammates, doing a lot of that work that Manchester United’s players in the last couple of seasons have been accused of not putting in, but then there’s just that quality thing in the final third which is maybe what counts in the big games and towards the end of the season, we’ll see."
With Anthony Martial currently sidelined with an injury, Weghorst will almost certainly continue as United's first-choice striker in the coming weeks.
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