Wout Weghorst is perhaps the most talked about striker in the Netherlands. His apparently limited technical qualities are at odds with the modern football ideal, yet the Ajax striker continues to gain the confidence of his trainers. His former trainer Erik ten Hag understands that. “He’s quite smart. Intelligent,” the former Manchester United manager told Voetbal International.
Weghorst also had a starting place at Ajax in the first half of the season, until he suffered an ankle injury in December. Even Rafael van der Vaart recently had to go into the Grab Scale Podcast reluctantly admits: “I can’t get it out of my throat, but I am slowly becoming charmed by Weghorst.”
This dual attitude around the striker is nothing new. In almost every locker room he entered, he was initially viewed with skepticism. Yet he eventually became a starter at every club.
Ten Hag, who brought the attacker to Manchester United on loan in 2023, mentions two reasons: tireless commitment and a surprisingly high football intelligence.
Yet Ten Hag also once saw things differently. As head of training at FC Twente, he rejected Weghorst at the time. “Whether it concerned assumptions, shots, duels or headers: everything was substandard for professional football,” he reflects. A harsh judgment that was widely supported at the time at the top of Dutch football.
Dirk Jan Derksen, former striker coach at Willem II, mainly remembers his aerial duels. “He headed as if he had a pigeon on his head.”
Ten Hag agrees. “He could indeed not head. But he can think well. He processes information very quickly and converts it into the right actions. As a result, his technique has improved enormously later in life.”
