Manchester United Set For Wout Weghorst Loan Deal After Burnley and Besiktas Talks
The most surprising transfer of the January window could see Manchester United sign a striker from the Championship. That player is Burnley’s 30-year-old Dutch international striker, Wout Weghorst, who is currently on loan at Turkish side Besiktas.
The Mirror reports that United are negotiating with both teams in order to secure his services for the rest of the season.
Weghorst has been in decent form for Besiktas and scored for the Netherlands in the Qatar World Cup last year, so even if he is not a practical long-term signing, he is likely to arrive confident in front of goal, and with a little Premier League experience after his half-season with Burnley last year. But it is hard to think he is an adequate replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.
United have been in the market for a striker to provide attacking cover for Marcus Rashford, and are understood to have made initial contact with Burnley to find out if a deal is possible.
Netherlands international Weghorst moved to Burnley on a three-and-a-half-year deal from Wolfsburg on Transfer Deadline Day in January 2022, but left to join Istanbul-based outfit Besiktas on a season-long loan last summer having found the back of the net just twice for the Clarets.
Weghorst remains on loan at Besiktas for the time being, and any deal may be complicated as it would require both clubs to agree to cut short Weghorst’s loan.
Speaking on Friday, Ten Hag said he needs to bring in attacking cover for Marcus Rashford with Anthony Martial struggling to manage the load.
Martial had a disrupted pre-season, and has been unable to complete 90 minutes this term as a result of an injury-interrupted campaign.
“There is a reason [Martial has been substituted in his last seven games]. It is because he cannot manage the load,” Ten Hag said. “This is why we are looking for another striker.
“It is not about us not relying on him. His physical load is not, at this moment, so high that he can play every third day a game of 90 minutes. So I have to manage that together with him.
“We are on a thin line at the moment because the qualities of Anthony Martial are so important right now to our game. His movements, his ball security, the pressing, let’s not forget that. We need that profile to be a threat.
“Also, Marcus Rashford benefits from that. So I am not concerned that only Marcus is scoring goals, because I am convinced the other players [can score too].
“Not only Anthony Martial, but Antony scored [in the 3-1 FA Cup win against Everton]. Bruno Fernandes is also very capable of scoring, Christian Eriksen will create and is also capable of scoring goals. So we have more players who can score goals.”
