Ronald Koeman does not see Plan B in Wout Weghorst. That is what the national coach of the Dutch national team says during the press conference on the KNVB Campus in Zeist on Monday afternoon. According to the choice lord, the thirty-year-old striker of Manchester United is a serious option for the striker position in the the Dutch. Koeman also indicates that selecting Ajax striker Brian Brobbey shows that the options in the front are currently meager.
Koeman does not yet want to reveal who will start as striker during the European Championship qualifiers against France and Gibraltar. “Within this selection, a number of boys can play well there,” said the national coach, who explains Brobbey’s selection. “The selection of Brobbey indicates that we do not have many options. You select a boy who is not a basic player at Ajax, but someone with a future.”
The Ajax player is therefore still above Toulouse striker Thijs Dallinga in the pecking order. “Of course we also followed the boys in France, but I chose Brobbey because I want to see him for ten days. I still think he will eventually get better.” Weghorst, who is a regular base player at United under manager Erik ten Hag, seems to be a serious option as the first striker against France.
“He is absolutely not Plan B,” says Koeman about the intended role for Weghorst. “In my first period, that was a reason to choose Luuk de Jong and not Wout. I thought Luuk was a better pinch hitter, but Wout has developed in such a way that he is a serious option for the base.” Weghorst made his debut under Koeman in the Dutch national team in March 2018. Now he could become the regular striker for the the Dutch for the first time in his international career. So far, the attack leader has played nineteen international matches, in which he was accurate five times.
Drop out options
It was previously announced that strikers Luuk de Jong (32 years old) and Vincent Janssen (28 years old) are no longer available for the Dutch national team. In Zeist, Koeman therefore spoke about the disappearance of these two options. “Luuk de Jong is a different case than Vincent Janssen, because you talk about an age difference. Those are choices they make and I respect that. I’ve always said it’s like it or not. When you come, you should be proud that you have been selected and you should radiate that. If for some reason that is not the case, you should stay home.”