Man Utd urged to sign Iranian star instead of Weghorst

Carlo Garganese

• 10 Jan 2023 09:00 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United have been urged by club legend Rio Ferdinand to sign Iran striker Mehdi Taremi instead of Wout Weghorst.

United are in talks to sign Weghorst in January, and are widely expected to complete a deal for the giant Dutchman this month.

The Red Devils are in discussions with Weghorst’s parent club Burnley over a January transfer of a player who is currently on a season-long loan at Besiktas.

Premier League 2022/23 January transfers: All the Done Deals

Weghorst has made it clear he wants to make the move to Man Utd and has asked Besiktas to terminate his loan deal.

Man Utd have made the signing of a new striker their priority in the January transfer window following the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo.

But Ferdinand is not convinced that a deal for Weghorst is wise and says he would have preferred United to buy Porto star Taremi.

The 30-year-old Taremi has scored 18 goals in 24 games for Porto this season in all competitions, and he also impressed at the World Cup by scoring twice against England.

What did Ferdinand say about Taremi and Weghorst?

“I’d have gone and got Taremi in from Porto,” Ferdinand said on the podcast Vibe with Five, before adding that United should look at Harry Kane for the longer term in the summer.

“Get Harry Kane in, Spurs fans I’m sorry, you’re not going to win anything, he ain’t going to win anything at Spurs.

“They’re in a bit of turmoil at the minute. Man United, in the summer, let’s go and find a No.9 for the next three or four years to hang our hat on, to get you 20, 25 goals a season every year, where are you going?

“If you go outside the Premier League it’s a risk, I don’t care what level, unless you’re talking to [Kylian] Mbappe. Outside that everything’s a risk.

“It’s massive money, 100 million, 120 million, [Victor] Osimhen, you’re getting charged. You’re paying big dough for these guys.

“You’re going to have to pay big money for Harry Kane but at least you know you’re getting a man who’s getting you 20, 25 goals a season. We can ask, ‘does he suit the play?’, the man scores 20, 25 goals. Harry Kane can’t be going anywhere but Man United.”

Kane has a contract with Tottenham until 2024 but club owner Daniel Levy has always made it extremely difficult for the striker to leave.