- 5 hours ago
Why Weghorst chose Man Utd’s number 27 shirt
Karan Tejwani
- 17 Jan 2023 11:50 GMT
- 3 min read
Wout Weghorst completed a loan move to Manchester United on Friday from Burnley after his spell at Besiktas was ended following an agreement.
Manchester United were eager to sign a forward in January following the termination of Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract with the club in November.
The Red Devils were thin in attack and have added Weghorst to the front line to aid them for the rest of the season in their push to secure Champions League football.
READ: Weghorst blocks Man Utd from signing midfielder on loan
And he has chosen the number 27 for his time at the club, explaining his decision to the club’s official media channels upon his unveiling.
Weghorst explains number decision
“Of course, I looked into the ones that are free or available. Two and seven will make nine, of course – a striker’s number,” Weghorst told the club. “I had a feeling with it.”
The number wasn’t exclusively available to him, as it was worn previously by Alex Telles, who is now out on loan at Sevilla: “Of course, when I came here, I heard about it was Alex [Telles]’s number, he got loaned out now,”
READ: ‘Incredible’ Weghorst will surprise everyone - Ten Hag
“I first had to ask him if that was okay, so I said that was, for me, important and then, in the end, there was no problem so thanks to him also.
Wout Weghorst: "My agent called me actually for the first time [about #mufc] and I was together with my girl, and she was a little bit shocked because she saw my face and I was like 'oof'. So yeah, it was a special moment and that was really nice, of course." [mu]
— utdreport (@utdreport) January 17, 2023
“So yeah, I go for the 27 and actually it’s just because I had a good feeling with it,” he concluded, as he hopes to do well for his new side.
Manchester United’s number nine shirt is currently occupied by Anthony Martial, who Weghorst will be competing with for the starting place at Old Trafford.
Weghorst moved to Burnley last year from Wolfsburg but after the club’s relegation from the Premier League, he was loaned out to Besiktas, with whom he spent three months before his return to England with Manchester United.
