DUTCH legend Wesley Sneijder claims that Manchester United’s pursuit of Wout Weghorst “must be a stunt”.
The Red Devils have turned to the burly Dutch forward in their bid to replace the axed Cristiano Ronaldo.
Besiktas are determined to keep hold of Weghorst, who is on loan in Turkey from Championship Burnley.
United are preparing a new offer for the 30-year-old ace.
But Sneijder, 38, can’t fathom why they would bother.
Speaking to Veronica Offside, the former Real Madrid and AC Milan star said: “I think they’ve seen the trick with the free-kick (vs Argentina at the World Cup), so they don’t fall for that in England any more.
READ MORE ON MAN UTD
“In terms of a striker, is he really someone United are waiting for? I don’t think so.
“They still have 300 of those in the Premier League. It must be a stunt. This really can’t be true.”
Fellow Netherlands legend Marco van Basten has warned United boss Erik ten Hag against signing “too many Dutch people”.
He told Ziggo Sport: ‘It can become dangerous if you have too many Dutch people and things are not going well.
Most read in Football
HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON FOOTBALL
“You also saw that at Barcelona, when they had five Dutch people. Then it will work against you. Ten Hag has to be careful with that.”
If United are to sign a Dutchman to play up front, however, Van Basten reckons they should go for former Newcastle flop Luuk de Jong, rather than Weghorst.
He added: “I have my doubts. Take a look at Luuk de Jong. That is really a striker that you can play through the air.
“I don’t think Weghorst is very strong in that regard. He can score a header, but he is more of a boy who can do something with his enthusiasm and force.”
Weghorst replaced Chris Wood at Burnley in January 2022, but only managed two Prem goals last term as the Clarets were relegated.
During his illustrious career, Sneijder was often linked with a move to Old Trafford.
But in recent years, Sir Alex Ferguson has denied ever having been interested.
The legendary Scot said: “That’s come up a lot of times but we were never interested in Sneijder.
“I don’t know where that came from but you get a lot of them.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
