Manchester United have completed their first signing of the January market, bringing in Burnley’s Wout Weghorst on loan. Erik ten Hag might have finally gotten his hands on a new striker, but United had to pay a ransom of £2.5m to Besiktas, where Weghorst was on a season long loan to acquire his services. The deal was no less than a complication since three clubs were involved in the negotiations to find the best solution.
And as evident, all parties involved have been satisfied; Manchester United got their player, Besiktas received £2.5m as compensation, and Burnley will now see the development of their player in a more competitive league than the Turkish Super Lig. However, there’s no denying that United and their manager will be the happiest one since they got a striker who can chip-in with important goals, if not emulate the double-figures like Cristiano Ronaldo last season.
Weghorst becomes Manchester United’s ‘fourth’ signing of Dutch essence under Ten Hag’s regime
With the loan acquisition of Weghorst, the Netherlands international becomes Manchester United’s fourth import of a player of Dutch roots under Ten Hag. Ever since taking over the job at Old Trafford at the start of this season, Ten Hag seems to have build a strategy of bringing in players who he knows either after coaching them, or coaching against them. Weghorst joins the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Antony and Tyrell Malacia who all arrived at United in the summer from the Eredivisie.
Weghorst shot his way to fame at the World Cup last month, where he scored two most important goals in four games, dragging the Netherlands from 2-0 down to level things against Argentina in the last 10 minutes of their quarterfinals. The 30-year-old also has 9 goals in 18 appearances for Besiktas this season, with an impressive 4 assists as well. On signing his loan deal with Manchester United until the end of the season, the striker expressed:
“I feel privileged to be joining Manchester United. I’ve played against the club in the past and it’s a fantastic feeling to now have the chance to pull on the famous red shirt. I’ve seen United’s progress under Erik ten Hag this season and can’t wait to start playing my part in pushing the team towards its aims.
“Whatever happens in the next few months, I can promise to give everything to the club for as long as I am here. I thank everyone who has played a part in getting me to this stage, and now I am looking forward to meeting my new teammates and getting involved straight away.”
Meanwhile, Besiktas who lost their player despite signing him on a season long demanded and got their compensation paid by Manchester United, amounting up to £2.5m. The Turkish side are currently fifth in the league and are now looking to bring in Weghorst’s replacement. Besiktast too released a statement which read:
“The temporary transfer agreement with our professional football player Wout Weghorst and his club has been terminated by mutual agreement with the player and his club. Due to the early termination of the contract by the Burnley FC club, a termination fee of EUR 2,825,000 [£2.5m] will be paid to our Company.”
Weghorst will now join his new teammates for training at Carrington, but will be unavailable to make his debut against local rivals Manchester City in the Manchester derby. The Red Devils are looking to avenge their embarrassing 6-3 loss in the reverse fixture at the Etihad. Moreover, the morale is high in Ten Hag’s camp, as his team has collected eight straight wins from their last eight games in all competitions.