Wout Weghorst may have just enough of what Manchester United need

W out Weghorst at Manchester United: when his loan from Burnley expires in the close season, should he stay or should he go? For the 30-year-old’s naysayers there is zero debate. They characterise him as the 6ft 6in one-paced target man of stereotype, continually hoping for any given contest to slow down. That Weghorst is a kind of Dutch Peter Crouch, except with fewer goals, as he has managed two in 18 United appearances.

A lack of fleet-footedness is the prime reason Weghorst is cast as having no long-term future under Erik ten Hag, as this weakness runs counter to the manager’s blueprint, which is all about speed, The ball should be recycled quickly, with the midfield flooding forward fast and Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony rushing in from the flanks. In Anthony Martial’s absence through injury, Weghorst was a stopgap only, the goal-sniffer who would finish the openings created by this attacking squadron.

Except Weghorst, prolific at AZ Alkmaar (45 goals in 86 games) and Wolfsburg (70 in 144), has been in the drought mode (two in 20) that caused Burnley to loan him to Besiktas. He is yet to score in the Premier League for United and his shot conversion rate is 6.1%, with two goals from 33 attempts.

Yet Ten Hag continues to trust him. The 18 appearances are starts in all of United’s games since Weghorst was registered in mid-January and he does show flashes of the football desired, with cute, off-the-front play – either from his usual No 9 berth or when fielded at 10.

Weghorst is technically astute and imaginative enough to open defences, as he did when driving at Newcastle’s in February’s Carabao Cup final to engineer the opening for Rashford’s goal in the 2-0 triumph.

Ten Hag is