With Manchester United having worked so hard to bring Wout Weghorst to Old Trafford in the January transfer window, his start to life with the Reds has been somewhat disappointing. The Dutch striker has not recorded the goal return he would have been hoping for and his hold-up play has left a lot to be desired.
Despite grabbing an assist in the 2-0 win over Leeds United at the weekend, the 30-year-old was an incongruous presence again up front. Standing at 6ft4in, Weghorst is expected to be able to hold play up and bring his teammates into the game, but his lay-offs were poor and he lacked an understanding with the players around him.
No one can question Weghorst's work rate since he joined the club, and the effort has been present in all of his outings. However, there is a feeling that the Netherlands international needs to do a bit more for United. Having registered a goal and an assist in his opening eight appearances, he has, so far, been unable to reach the heights he set while on loan at Besiktas in the first half of the season.
ALSO READ: Carabao Cup final referee and VAR announced for United vs Newcastle
Weghorst scored nine goals and grabbed four assists in 18 appearances for the Turkish giants, so while it came as somewhat of a surprise that the 30-year-old was the stop-gap forward Erik ten Hag opted to sign until the end of the campaign, he arrived at Old Trafford in good form.
His fellow striker Anthony Martial has impressed when on the pitch for United, having recorded eight goal contributions in 14 matches. However, the Frenchman has struggled with a number of different injuries and he has missed 20 games through injury already this season.
With Martial lacking fitness and Cristiano Ronaldo having left the club in November, Weghorst is clearly under pressure to deliver for Ten Hag's side - especially given how well he had been playing for Besiktas. Although Marcus Rashford has taken on the responsibility of being the club's main goal threat, the England ace needs support, and that needs to come from his fellow attacker.
United travel to Camp Nou on Thursday night for the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie. Ten Hag's men will be without Lisandro Martinez and Marcel Sabitzer through suspension, while Christian Eriksen is one of several players sidelined with an injury.
Xavi's side have been electric this campaign - winning 18 of their 21 La Liga matches. The Catalan giants have an 11-point advantage over title rivals Real Madrid. They dropped into the Europa League after failing to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, and in doing so, became many people's favourites to lift the trophy.
Barcelona average nearly 65 per cent possession this season, and while United have performed well both with and without the ball in recent months, Ten Hag's men are not expected to dominate the ball in the first leg on Thursday night. As a result, it is vital that the Reds make the most of their possession. For Weghorst, it is the perfect opportunity to prove exactly why the club were so keen to sign him in January.
There will be times when United need to go long, and when they do, Weghorst needs to retain possession. Evidently, it is not solely down to the Dutchman, but his teammates need to be able to trust that the striker can hold onto the ball. It is something that he has excelled at throughout his career, but away at Camp Nou is a true test of his ability.
The Reds don't have any other senior strikers they can call upon, so the United loanee will likely get the chance to impress under difficult circumstances. He made the decision to cut his loan spell with Besiktas short to play in matches like this for Ten Hag's side, but it is important that he shows the club were right to trust him.
READ NEXT:
