“They didn’t follow through”- Manchester United forward claims Tottenham and Arsenal snubbed chance to sign him

Manchester United loanee Wout Weghorst has claimed that Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were interested in signing him two seasons ago.

The Dutch striker joined the Red Devils on loan from Burnley last week. He also made his debut in their goalless draw against Crystal Palace on January 18.

Weghorst recently revealed that he could have been playing for Arsenal or Tottenham instead. However, neither club followed up on their interest, which also pushed him to further work on improving his game.

He said (via The Mirror):

“Two seasons ago there was serious interest in me from Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. It was concrete - but in the end, they didn’t follow through. When it fell through, I set myself new goals. I took a good look at myself and which areas I needed to improve, physically and mentally."

He added:

“I drew up a plan for that with my specialist team. I realised I didn’t score enough with my head and so I started working on my technique with a volleyball coach three times a week. People will think to themselves: ‘What on earth is this guy doing?’ But it’s clearly had an effect. I now have real confidence. If I good ball comes over, I nod it in. I’m proud of that because it’s the result of focus and hard work.”

Weghorst joined Burnley from VfL Wolfsburg in January 2022 and contributed two goals and three assists for the club. However, he couldn't prevent them from getting relegated and was loaned out to Besiktas before eventually joining Manchester United.

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Wout Weghorst's thoughts on Manchester United's upcoming clash against Arsenal

Weghorst played 70 minutes in Manchester United's draw against Palace but couldn't make the impact he would have dreamed of. He spoke about how he had just one training session with the squad before the game.

The Dutchman also shared what he hopes for in their clash against Premier League leaders Arsenal on January 22. He said (via Manchester Evening News):

"To be honest I trained one time with the whole squad before the match. I did my best, the room to improve is definitely there but i was satisfied. You wish for a more special debut of course but the result at the end gave us a little bit of a bad feeling."

He added:

"[Sunday is a] big match of course for us to make this gap smaller. We’re ready, I’m ready and like I said I hope to score [my first] goal as quick as possible."

Manchester United are third in the Premier League table, eight points behind Arsenal, who have a game in hand.