Wout Weghorst landed his dream move to Old Trafford by going back to the drawing board following a snub from the Premier League ’s two north London giants.
The 6ft 6in tall striker interested both Spurs and Arsenal before both decided that he wasn’t for them. Weghorst ended up at Burnley instead - finally proving he was worth a shot at the big-time following a starring role for Holland at the World Cup.
He said: “Two seasons ago there was serious interest in me from Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. It was concrete - but in the end, they didn’t follow through. When it fell through, I set myself new goals. I took a good look at myself and which areas I needed to improve, physically and mentally.
“I drew up a plan for that with my specialist team. I realised I didn’t score enough with my head and so I started working on my technique with a volleyball coach three times a week.
“People will think to themselves: ‘What on earth is this guy doing?’ But it’s clearly had an effect. I now have real confidence. If I good ball comes over, I nod it in. I’m proud of that because it’s the result of focus and hard work.”
Weghorst made his debut against Crystal Palace in the week, playing 70 minutes and created the space for Bruno Fernandes to score the game's opener. Manager Erik ten Hag was impressed with what he saw.
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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."
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."
