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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
John McDougall

'Pretty harsh' - Wout Weghorst's Manchester United spell defended despite goal drought

Critics of Wout Weghorst's spell at Manchester United who blasted the striker and said he'd chosen to play the wrong sport have been labelled 'pretty harsh' by former Ajax and Denmark winger Kenneth Perez.

Weghorst joined United on loan in January from Burnley, after spending the first half of the campaign at Besiktas in Turkey. His arrival came with United needing to sign a striker following the sudden departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in November. The Dutchman regularly featured for Erik ten Hag's side, but struggled to find form in front of goal.

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The Netherlands international made 31 appearances for United in all competitions but scored just twice and failed to find the net in the Premier League. His final appearance came from the bench in the FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City.

And while he has struggled at Old Trafford, he's been defended by Perez even if the pundit feels his time at United exposed his limitations.

“I find them rather harsh in England,” Perez told Voetbalpraat via Yahoo when assessing the verdict on Weghorst who scored nine goals in 18 games for Besiktas and found the net regularly for previous clubs AZ Alkmaar and Wolfsburg.

“We get the reputation that we are a bit harsh. I have also been outspoken about Weghorst, but they say that he may have chosen the wrong sport. That’s pretty harsh. The sport of football is of course not only Manchester United, also AZ, Besiktas… He did a great job there.

"It is of course very painful for him that he has scored zero goals (in the league). And we’ve talked about it before, but of course he doesn’t look good in a Manchester United shirt, (with) his limited technique and all his other limitations.”

A Manchester Evening News special souvenir edition - Fergie's First - charts United's 1992/93 title-winning campaign and you can get your hands on one here

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