Barcelona moment highlights missing piece of Ten Hag’s Man Utd jigsaw

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There was one brief moment amid the chaos when the Camp Nou stood still. Bruno Fernandes dug out a sublime clipped through ball that split the Barcelona defence in two – Wout Weghorst then did as expected, fluffing his lines following a stop from Marc Andre ter-Stegen.

Weghorst has routinely displayed since arriving at Old Trafford that he is not good enough to cut the mustard as a top-level centre-forward.

Thankfully, he is only seemingly viewed by Erik ten Hag as a stop-gap solution until the end of the season, although if he is to sign on a permanent deal, his game time is almost certain to become limited.

At the moment, he is receiving the nod in all of United’s big matches and although he brings plenty more to the table with his exceptional hold-up play, his finishing is simply not up to scratch.

Thankfully, United are not overly reliant on the Dutchman as Marcus Rashford is currently at the top of his game but should the England internationals goals dry up, the Red Devils could be set to suffer.

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The chance Fernandes provided for Weghorst on Thursday evening was on a silver platter. Yet still, the big target man seems to make hard work of finishing basic chances.

It was a decent enough save from ter Stegen but United need to be taking those kinds of chances in a tie of this magnitude as they don’t come around often.

On the plus side, the chances United are creating bode well for the future. It has now become clear they require a top-class No 9 this summer, who could prove to be the final piece of Ten Hag’s jigsaw.

A Victor Osimhen or Harry Kane would have buried the opportunity and would also have probably hit double figures now had they played the same amount of games as Weghorst.

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That’s because generally, United are creating an abundance of chances per 90 minutes but they are missing somebody who can constantly finish them off.

Rashford is also providing a remarkable threat from the wings and United are firmly onto something special at the moment.

Landing a striker is exactly what would propel this team to new heights and while Weghorst could yet stick around, there is a sense that an upgrade should be top of Ten Hag’s shortlist.

It has already been well documented that United are prepared to go big on a marquee No 9 at the end of the season, when more funds should be made available to the Dutchman providing Champions League qualification is secured.

For the first time in years, there are not many areas within United’s squad that are in desperate need of improvement meaning there will be scope to focus efforts on signing a centre-forward.

And what reads very favourably for Ten Hag on the basis of what he has built so far is that, there are not many players in world football that wouldn’t be at least interested in a move to United now.

You can see what the club are trying to do and there is a clear vision, something that has not always been evident in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

United were able to entice Casemiro into a move to Old Trafford and players like him, Rashford, Fernandes and Raphael Varane will only help attract more big names in the future moving forward.

Weghorst was undeniably a cost-effective quick-fix but when United sign their upgrade, they are going to be a serious force to be reckoned with.

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