Thread by @ThreadmanChaza

Wout WEGHORST as a number 10? ~ A THREAD 🧵

During Manchester United’s 2-0 win away at Leeds, Wout Weghorst was the latest United player to undergo a perhaps surprising position change, with Wout moving into a number 10 position, Bruno going to the right, Rashford at 9 and Garnacho left. Let’s take a look 👇

Here, Weghorst plays a one two with Bruno and then looks to play Garnacho in behind. Ayling cuts the pass out but this is a warning sign, soon after his position change he’s picking up nice pockets of space.

I have been impressed by his technical ability for such a tall profile and here you’ll see how quickly he moves his feet in a tight area and wins a free kick for us. Massively important to relieve some pressure so our team can move up the pitch.

His physical frame and ability to cause havoc could be beneficial for us in that number 10 position going forward, especially when we are engaged in physical battles, like against Leeds yesterday. Having a player who can draw players towards him, win free kicks…

And actually then leave more space for other players in behind gives us a huge asset. There’s been many examples this season of Weghorst drawing defenders to him, controlling the ball well, then passing it effectively to another player. Link up play is strong.

Another nice example here, the touch with the foot, chest and then the weight of pass to Fred is good. This is actually where the sequence of our first goal begins.

United’s first goal- Rashford

Something interesting to note here is Weghorst’s presence in the box. If he makes a run towards the box, naturally defenders will want to prioritise marking him, as he is a massive threat aerially. His runs into the box…

Could in fact act as a decoy for other runners such as Rashford here, who might get more space awarded to them thanks to the presence of Wout in the box. These points are very marginal, but could make all the difference to whether you score or you don’t.

Here is United’s first goal sequence broken down more closely. Shaw has the ball on the left hand side.

I have numbered key players from 1-4:

1- Koch
2- Weghorst
3- Wober
4- Rashford

Garnacho’s position means Koch has to hold his position, Wober tight to Rashford.

Now, Weghorst makes a darting run towards the near post. You can see number 3 (Leeds’ CB Wober) shift his body towards the direction of number 2 (Weghorst), as he is worried Weghorst will be in space.

This then leaves more space for Marcus Rashford, who finishes brilliantly into the far corner, but without this movement from Wout, Rashford may not have had the space and time he had. Important details.

United 2nd goal- Garnacho

Weghorst was again involved in United’s good combination play, dropping deeper here and playing Garnacho in behind, who scores with a really nice finish. Once again, Weghorst showing his passing quality.

Again here, we see the nice chest control and a pass into Wan-Bissaka’s path. If you give Weghorst runners into space or in behind, he will provide quality lay-offs and passes. His technical ability is strong.

So, will we see him in the number 10 position again? It is certainly something that is possible IN GAME, when United are pushing for a goal, Wout can be used as a focal point with runners in and around him. Him being in the 10 means he can afford to come deeper…

With the likes of Garnacho and Rashford running in behind, without leaving a gaping hole at number 9, which is something we sometimes see when a “ball to feet”
profile constantly comes short to receive passes. Let this man work his magic.

Thanks a lot for reading this thread, I hope you enjoyed it. Please do LIKE, RETWEET AND FOLLOW @ThreadmanChaza for more threads like these. I will also be covering this analysis on YouTube so please do subscribe to my channel if you want to see this! youtube.com/@threadmanchaz…