Wout Weghorst says Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has him playing in a role he has never played as a professional.
Weghorst has spoken to United’s official website about playing as a number ten in recent matches against Leeds United and Barcelona.
The towering Dutch striker says he has not played in that role since he was an amateur player as a teenager in the Netherlands.
But the fact that Ten Hag was aware of that, despite the fact that Weghorst is 30 now, shows his attention to detail and his knowledge of his players.
Wout Weghorst comments show Erik ten Hag’s attention to detail
“I think I was like 17 or 18 at the time, playing still as an amateur in the Netherlands but no, he mentioned it to me [at Leeds] at half-time that it could be an option to do some tactical switches,” said Weghorst of Ten Hag.
“It happened in the second half and it went good for myself. It was actually new and the first time I’d played there but I quite liked it.
“The most important thing for me is to help the team. It helped us to win the match over there, doing also my defensive work.
“I took it on and, especially for the first time, I think I can be happy with it.”
Ten Hag has brought a meticulous attention to detail to Old Trafford and he clearly has a huge knowledge of his players’ careers and background.
Weghorst might have been viewed as a stop-gap signing in January, but Ten Hag got in a player whose career he has knowledge going back 12 or 13 years of.
That is hugely impressive and shows that Ten Hag has his stamp all over signings and even signings which look short-term and perhaps far from perfect are thought through and considered.
That is how Ten Hag can thrust Weghorst into an unfamiliar role in the white heat of the Camp Nou and get a performance like he did, albeit one which should have brought a first half goal.
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