Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has blasted Wout Weghorst just days before the Carabao Cup final. Eyebrows were raised when Manchester United signed the 6ft 6in striker on loan from Championship outfit Burnley.
The Dutchman arrived at Turf Moor once Newcastle splashed out £25million to sign Chris Wood last January. However, Weghorst bagged just twice in 20 appearances as the Clarets were relegated.
New Burnley boss Vincent Kompany made the striker aware he was not part of his plans, with Besiktas offering him an escape route. Weghorst rediscovered his goalscoring touch in Turkey and the Red Devils swooped to solve their striker crisis.
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While Man United have improved since his arrival, that has not been down to Weghorst’s goals. Just one from 10 appearances has hardly set the top flight alight at his second opportunity in England.
Despite his barren spell, the target man is expected to start this weekend against Newcastle United. Erik ten Hag has deployed Weghorst slightly behind Marcus Rashford, arguably the most in-form player in Europe right now.
His selfless contribution has been acknowledged by the Old Trafford faithful - but is not enough to impress Keys. Speaking to beIN Sports, the 65-year-old ripped into Weghorst, claiming the Red Devils are handicapping their chances of winning.
"You’re playing with 10 men most weeks if he’s (Weghorst) in," Keys exclaimed. "I mean, he doesn’t do enough to justify a starting place, does he? Come on, let’s be honest!"
Co-host Andy Gray took a more sympathetic view towards the striker. He added: “He's there for a reason. They've struggled to get somebody in, I think that's the key. (Ten Hag) thinks he can do a job and he's not going to ruffle any feathers.
“It'll be interesting to see what happens on Thursday against Barcelona, whether he picks him or not, because he's got plenty of options now, we've seen that.”
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