“I first had to ask him if that was okay” – Wout Weghorst explains why he chose shirt No. 27 at Manchester United

New Manchester United loan-signing Wout Weghorst has explained why he gravitated towards the No. 27 shirt despite never sporting the number in his senior career. The Burnley loanee claimed that he had a good feeling about wearing the No. 27 shirt for the Red Devils.

Manchester United officially announced Weghorst’s loan transfer on Friday, January 13. The Dutch forward is set to remain at the club until the end of the campaign and will look to bring his World Cup form to Old Trafford. Weghorst played four matches for the Dutch side at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, scoring two goals.

Speaking to MUTV in his first-ever interview as a United player, Weghorst revealed what drew him towards No. 27.

“Of course, I looked into the ones that are free or available. Two and seven will make nine, of course – a striker’s number,” the 30-year-old revealed.

“I had a feeling with it.”

The No. 27 shirt was previously worn by Alex Telles. The player is currently on loan at Sevilla and will not return before Weghorst’s departure. The striker, however, did the gentlemanly thing of asking for his permission before taking his number.

“Of course, when I came here, I heard about it was Alex [Telles]’s number, he got loaned out now,” Weghorst added.

“I first had to ask him if that was okay, so I said that was, for me, important and then, in the end, there was no problem so thanks to him also. So yeah, I go for the 27 and actually it’s just because I had a good feeling with it.”

Weghorst spent the first half of the 2022-23 season at Turkish club Besiktas. He played 18 matches for them across competitions, scoring nine times and claiming four assists.

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Gary Neville lauds Erik ten Hag for his excellent work as Manchester United manager

The Red Devils are enjoying a splendid run in the Premier League, bagging five wins on the spin, with their latest one coming at defending champions Manchester City’s expense. The team looks more united than ever, there is purpose in their gameplay, and there have been little to no lapses in concentration.

Club legend Gary Neville is mesmerized by what he has seen from Ten Hag so far and has lauded him for extracting maximum performance from his players.

Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast, the former Manchester United defender said:

“If you'd said to me United would've had a back four of Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw at centre-back, with Malacia at left-back, and a front three of Bruno, Martial and Rashford - seven or eight months ago, I'd have said United were in big trouble.

“Erik ten Hag is doing an unbelievable job there. He's still got a team that looks, on paper, well below what it needs to be. But he's extracted everything he needs from them.”

Fourth-placed Manchester United will return to Premier League action with a clash against Crystal Palace on January 18.