Ten Hag explains why he chose Wout Weghorst despite lack of goals »

• Erik ten Hag explains why he has persisted with Wout Weghorst despite goalscoring struggles since joining Man Utd.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has explained how Wout Weghorst’s level of fitness has allowed him to establish himself as a constant in his starting lineup.

The United manager acknowledged that Weghorst has played so much because of Anthony Martial’s injury problems, but he also praised the physical qualities of the Dutch striker when he snapped his goalless streak in the 4-1 Europa League victory against Real Betis.

“He’s physically capable of playing a lot of games, he’s a very fit player, he recovers very good,” Ten Hag told a press conference. “I expect that he’d play a lot but obviously we have an injury to Anthony Martial so that’s the main reason he’s playing every game from start to almost finish.”

RELATED

As Cristiano Ronaldo abruptly left the team in January, Weghorst was brought in as a temporary offensive replacement. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old has ended up starting 15 straight games. His close-range strike against Betis was just his second goal for United, and it came after he had earlier missed a few great chances.

Ten Hag hailed Weghorst’s persistence and his ability to read the game.

“As you can see he is often in the right position and he fails but he keeps going and so he showed great personality and character,” added the United manager. “In this game, he could already have had his goal earlier on. He keeps focused, he keeps working, he keeps putting himself in the right position and finally he got his goal and his reward.”

Weghorst and his teammates have little time to rest before Sunday’s Premier League match against struggling Southampton.