- 20 hours ago
Weghorst working to save Man Utd MILLIONS on striker Ten Hag loves
Robin Bairner
- 21 Oct 2024 09:30 BST
- 4 min read
Wout Weghorst is playing his part to potentially save Manchester United millions on a striker that manager Erik ten Hag loves.
Coming off the bench on Sunday against Heracles Almelo, Weghorst scored twice to propel the Amsterdam side to a 4-3 victory. With three goals in four league matches, the former Manchester United loanee is doing his part to push for a starting berth in Francesco Farioli’s starting XI.
Should Weghorst step up, though, it almost certainly means that Brian Brobbey will drop down the pecking order.
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Current ETV
Brian Brobbey
F (C)
Brian Brobbey
F (C)
Ajax
ETV Range
€13.8M - €23M
The 22-year-old is a striker that Man Utd manager Ten Hag has chased previously but with one goal in 12 is under pressure.
Sky Sport Deutschland spoke of United’s interest in the player during the summer of 2023, which continued into January 2024 and beyond. Clearly, he is a player the manager admires.
“Erik ten Hag called me and said that at United, my agent would get millions of euros and I could earn a multiple of my Ajax salary. But our decision was clear: we wanted to go to Ajax,” Brobbey previously told De Telegraaf.
“Manchester United wanted to have me, but I insisted on returning to Ajax. To make that possible, my agent Jose Fortes Rodriguez even waived a hefty percentage of the sell-on clause.”
Ajax previously rejected Man Utd’s overtures for the player, but with Weghorst in scoring form, this stance could be about to change.
Brobbey’s price dropping
Currently, Brobbey has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €18.4 million, but this has tumbled €700,000 since the start of the season.
Should Weghorst, as seems likely, embed himself in the starting XI, his price will only diminish more.
This could be to Ten Hag’s advantage if he still has eyes for the striker as much-needed support for Rasmus Hojlund.
Although not necessarily gifted in front of goal, Brobbey offers the type of work rate and physicality that Ten Hag values in a No.9.
“Brian is a very important player for us and with his physical strength he gives the team a lot. Other players benefit from his work,” Farioli said of his striker.
Not everyone is so convinced.
“He is not a cool guy, not a finisher,” legendary striker Marco van Basten told Ziggo Sport. “A hard worker, a good point of contact, but not a refined guy.
“He is always arguing with everyone and everything, is always in a duel. He is always pushing and pulling, that is not smart.
“It should be a strength that he is technically good and therefore smart. Those are things you need to have as a striker but that is hard to find with him.”
Although Ajax continue to publicly back Brobbey, it is becoming increasingly apparent that he needs a change of scene.
While Man Utd appears an unlikely destination given his form, don’t rule anything out given Ten Hag’s obvious affection for the player, plus the prospect of getting a striker who is still young at a comparatively cheap price.
Either way, Wout Weghorst is certainly doing his bit to help his old club.
