(Football news) Manchester United signed Wout Weghorst and Marcel Sabitzer on loan in January to provide some much needed depth after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure and Christian Eriksen’s injury. Both players have been quite underwhelming in their short stint at Old Trafford and with the season coming to a conclusion, the question remains if they should remain at Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag has publicly backed both the players and while Sabitzer, who made 18 appearances and scored three goals since joining from Bayern Munich in January has been above average, it’s hard to see what Weghorst offers the team except for his work rate. Sabitzer is currently out for the season due to a knee injury and the club are yet to make a decision to sign either of their loan signings permanently. He last appeared for Manchester United as a substitute during a 1-0 defeat at West Ham on May 7th.
A statement released by Manchester United read “Everyone at the club is disappointed to lose Marcel’s services, as we strive for a strong finish to our season in the Premier League and the FA Cup. We appreciate his contribution to our progress so far. We would like to wish Marcel well in having a speedy recovery.”
With Donny van de Beek available for selection next season combined with the plethora of midfield options such as Scott McTominay, Fred, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, it would make more sense of Erik ten Hag to let Sabitzer go in favour of a younger option who can remain in the set up for the long term. At the age of 29, Sabitzer can’t be considered a long term option and his injury issues are a cause of concern.
As for Weghorst, the 30 year old is simply not the answer to Manchester United’s attack for next season. In the 15 matches he has played in the Premier League, the Dutch international has scored no goals and provided just 1 assist. While he has a good work rate, it’s becoming a cause of concern that Manchester United are over reliant on Marcus Rashford for goals and need to sign a quality number 9 to ensure goals can come from other sources. Anthony Martial is an unreliable option due to injuries which means signing a striker should be Ten Hag’s biggest priority in the summer.
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