COMMENT: For an Erik ten Hag team. For what was required of him. It was always going to happen. If things went south, it would be Wout Weghorst - beyond all others - who would be made the scapegoat.

It's an age-old debate. One which has raged since the game first began. The value of a centre-forward. A defensive centre-forward. That target for the midfield to hit. One for the more nimble attackers to play off. He won't always get you a hatful for goals. But in a particular system, for the role he plays, he's invaluable to his manager - but more often than not, for the average fan, he's a subject of confusion, even scorn.

Which is the position Weghorst has found himself in at United. There's a section of the support that simply don't see what the Dutchman contributes to Ten Hag's team. And beyond the fans, there's also a selection of pundits who can't recognise it. But he's no special case. Throughout the generations, there's been managers who need such a centre-forward to make his system work. The goals never rack up. Nor do the assists. But it's really a case of the whole being greater than the sum. Football, thankfully, isn't played on paper. Nor in a database. There's more, much more, to creating a successful system than statistics. Weghorst is proof enough of that.

The Anfield horror show aside (and that shouldn't be dismissed), United's football has improved since the introduction of Weghorst. The loan signing from Burnley the linchpin Ten Hag's attacking structure had been seeking. A compromise, sure. But the value and importance for how Ten Hag wants this United team to play would be the same if it was Harry Kane or Victor Osimhen filling that void.

United's sometimes captain Harry Maguire highlighted the sense of a shift amongst the players a fortnight ago: "I think coming back from the World Cup we have started to play really well, before the World Cup we had great fight and spirit [but] we didn't really put in the actions that the manager wanted. But since the World Cup we did that."

And of course, the one big change post-Qatar has been the addition of Weghorst. It's simply no coincidence that the football has flowed so much smoother with the likes of Marcus Rashford and Antony able to buzz and bounce off the Dutchman. Or just as Casemiro can launch an attack by hitting Weghorst, knowing he'll protect possession and bring others around him into the game. Such work is all done with the No27 facing David de Gea's goal - and not the opposition's. But it allows Rashford and co to play their more natural game. And so things have now clicked.

Upon his arrival at Turf Moor 14 months ago, Weghorst made an unusual request to Burnley's media team. He wanted any press clippings from the major dailies reporting his move from VfL Wolfsburg. It was for his scrapbook. Something he had been putting together his entire career.

And as we reported when Weghorst's loan with Besiktas was set to be broken up, the Dutchman spent the evening before his scheduled flight for Manchester at the club's stadium. Besiktas insiders say Weghorst was determined to preserve some final memories of his time with the Black Eagles.

So he's little bit different, is Weghorst. Hes not your mercenary. Your cynical pro. He feels things a little deeper. He wants to cherish this career a little more. Which perhaps could explain the 'This is Anfield' incident. Of course, he's insisted it was all about winding up Virgil van Dijk. But true or not, if you're football mad. If you're living and breathing the history of the game. And you have the opportunity to touch that famous sign. Could you resist it...?

But such emotion. Such nuance. That's not the stuff of today's social media-driven reporting. So he's the villain. The scapegoat. Not the passionate football fan who's found himself in the unimaginable position of leading the line for Manchester United. Such understanding has no place on social media.

Fortunately, that type cyber opinion weighs as much for a manager like Ten Hag as it lasts in the world of 'hot takes'. And when Weghorst struck against Real Betis on Thursday, the goodwill from all inside Old Trafford could be visibly felt. The emotion Weghorst displayed... and that he did it at the Stretford End... of course, was always going to happen. It was another landmark moment for this crazy 'Boy's Own annual' career of his.

As for beyond this season, the decision will be left to Weghorst. The budget has been set. A shortlist of targets identified. A new centre-forward will be signed by Ten Hag this summer.

But given his contribution, United's manager will leave the door open to Weghorst making this loan permanent. It'll simply be a case of whether, at 30 years of age, he's happy to play pinch-hitter to a Kane or Osimhen. Particularly now with Burnley already with one foot back in the Premier League.

But whatever happens, this season will be one for the scrapbook. And even with all those unfair headlines, Weghorst will know how much he contributed to United in 2023. Thursday night's reaction of Old Trafford at the 82nd minute a memory no-one can take away.