Wout Weghorst Manchester Uniteds Loan Deal For Burnley Striker
Wout Weghorst With Besiktas' stay coming to an end, Manchester United's loan agreement with Burnley's striker Wout Weghorst is getting closer.
According to sources in Turkey, Weghorst attended the Besiktas headquarters on Thursday morning to sign the documents terminating his loan. Weghorst will now go to Manchester to sign a loan agreement with United after a deal in principle was reached on Wednesday.
After leaving Besiktas, Dutch striker Wout Weghorst is in route to Manchester United to complete his loan transfer from Burnley.
Previously on loan at the Turkish club, the 30-year-old has chosen to join Old Trafford till the conclusion of the current campaign.
The player's salaries and the loan fee will both be covered by Manchester United. The entire cost of the package is anticipated to be around $4 million.
If all goes according to plan, Weghorst should be able to practise with the club before the weekend. United hopes to get him registered by Friday at noon so that he may play in the Manchester derby on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag, the manager of United, has been looking for a striker replacement since since Cristiano Ronaldo and his team mutually cancelled their contract at the World Cup.
It's no secret that United wants to add a No. 9, and Weghorst would provide them a squad option they don't currently have: a powerful physical presence in addition to an impressive club and international scoring record.
The 6-foot-6 striker scored the game-winning goal in Saturday's 2-1 Super Lig victory against Kasimpasa, giving him nine goals in 18 appearances for Besiktas this season. Weghorst looked to wave an emotional farewell to the team's supporters after scoring.
In the summer, United was looking for a player with Weghorst's skill set and showed interest in Sasa Kalajdzic and Benjamin Sesko.
United are in severe need of a striker on loan during the January transfer window after cutting connections with Cristiano Ronaldo during the World Cup after the player's heated interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised the team and manager Erik ten Hag.
In the World Cup quarterfinals against the eventual champions Argentina, the striker scored twice for the Netherlands, the second of which was perhaps one of the most dramatic goals in tournament history, tying the score after an ingenious free-kick ball to force extra time.
In 16 league games, the former Wolfsburg star has eight goals and four assists. This is a quick start for him in Turkey.
These numbers stand in striking contrast to his Premier League performance with Burnley last season, where he scored only twice in 20 games, but his overall performance throughout that time period sheds light on Ten Hag's present interest in the player.
The graph below displays each shot and opportunity Weghorst generated for Burnley during the 2017–18 campaign. It demonstrates that just nine of his 25 efforts from 20 appearances—or eight percent of his total—were successful, corresponding to 728 minutes per goal.
Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, stated on Friday that Anthony Martial is finding it difficult to handle the burden and that he has to bring in attacking cover for Marcus Rashford.
Due to an injury-interrupted season and a preseason marred by problems, Martial hasn't been able to play the full 90 minutes this term.
"Martial has been substituted in his past seven games for a cause. Ten Hag explained, "It's because he can't handle the load. We are seeking for another striker because of this.
It's not that we're not depending on him. His physical workload right now prevents him from playing a 90-minute game every third day. I must thus handle that with him.
Because Anthony Martial's attributes are so crucial to our game right now, "We are on a thin line right now." Let's not discuss his moves, ball security, or pressuring.
Marcus Rashford gains from that as well. Therefore, I am not concerned that Marcus is the only one scoring goals since I am confident that the other players can as well.
"Antony scored [in the 3-1 FA Cup victory against Everton]. Not only Anthony Martial. Christian Eriksen will both create and score goals, while Bruno Fernandes is also an excellent goal scorer. As a result, we have a larger pool of goal scorers.
