Erik ten Hag confirms Man Utd’s first signing of summer

Carlo Garganese

• 2 Apr 2023 17:02 BST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag has strongly suggested that Wout Weghorst will be Manchester United’s first signing of the summer.

The 30-year-old arrived at Man Utd on loan until the end of the season from Burnley after terminating his previous loan at Besiktas.

The deal raised eyebrows with many critics, with some believing that the giant target man was not of the profile or quality required for such a big club like Man Utd.

MORE: 'Wappie Wout': How Weghorst’s refusal to take Covid vaccine cost him big move

The basic stats would suggest that these critics were right as Weghorst has only scored two goals and assisted three in 18 games for United.

But United’s form has certainly improved with Weghorst in the team and Ten Hag has now suggested that his transfer will be made permanent.

What did Ten Hag say?

“Of course,” Ten Hag replied to reporters when asked about the idea of Weghorst staying permanently.

“I think he is doing a lot of elements of football really well. He is doing a really good job for us in pressing, so he is the leader of the process in pressing. He starts the press and he is very good in the backward pressing.

“He is taking other positions and his link-up play, he is doing really well. He creates movements and makes good movements. He is also good in the set plays.

“He is really contributing to the performance of this team after Christmas, we played 25 games and we lost two games.

“So you can see and he played nearly almost all those games. He was really a part of that success.'”

Weghorst started in attack on Sunday during the Premier League match with Newcastle.