Wout Weghorst, a latest signing of Manchester United, could make his club debut tonight after being named to the traveling squad for the match against Crystal Palace.
The Dutchman joined the team on a six-month loan on Saturday, but he wasn’t registered in time for the match against Manchester City.
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Burnley had the 30-year-old on loan at Besiktas, but the Turkish club agreed to terminate the agreement in order to allow the striker to join the Red Devils, who paid a sum of about £2 million.
Anthony Martial of Manchester United was hooked at half-time in the Manchester derby following a lethargic 45-minute display and was replaced by Antony.
Erik Ten Hag responded to a question about why Martial’s participation in the game was in doubt after the win:”I hoped to avoid that he was getting injured but he was complaining. That’s why he also didn’t train in the week and was a question mark [for the derby].
“We decided – and he decided as well – to start. He begged to start. I knew the start would be so important in this game and he is really good at pressing and he is a really big element in our pressing, but I needed to re-evaluate at half-time.”
“I have to think about that,” Ten Hag said of the prospect of starting Weghorst.”
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“First settle down after this game, make the right conclusions and then we will make a clear plan for Palace. Of course, I know a lot about Palace.”
Weghorst will probably start against Selhurst Park, although Ten Hag kept his cards close to his chest.
This season, United has urgently needed a dependable center-forward, and Weghorst should be able to fill that role while also bringing a clinical edge that has been lacking.
In a game that needs to be won for an implausible title push, Weghorst should start because Martial is not match-ready, and his numbers this season when compared to the Frenchman also support this.
Weghorst and Martial are indeed very different players. The latter is a conventional center-forward, a relic of goalscorers past, as seen by his Besiktas statistics, where he averaged more shot assists and shots per 90 than Martial.
Weghorst may start against Selhurst Park as United attempts to put pressure on Arsenal ahead of Sunday’s trip to the Emirates with Martial perhaps out.
By defeating Palace, United can catch up to rival City before Tottenham visits the Etihad and reduce their deficit to the Gunners to six points.
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