Wout Weghorst to Man Utd: Only one thing can hold up transfer

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 11 Jan 2023 08:51 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United will sign Burnley striker Wout Weghorst on a loan until the end of the season, with just one aspect of the deal capable of causing a sticking point.

Weghorst will have to be registered with the Premier League by midday on Friday if he is to feature in the weekend’s Manchester derby, which is a prospect that looks very healthy at the time of writing.

From Man Utd and Burnley’s end, everything appears to be in place for the transfer to be completed, yet the deal has been complicated by the fact that Weghorst is currently on a one-year loan to Besiktas that needs terminated before the Red Devils can sign him.

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The Turkish club have played hardball over the striker, who has eight goals in 16 league matches, but a €3 million compensation package to end the loan has been agreeable with them.

However, nothing formal is as yet in place because Besiktas want to find a replacement centre forward before signing Weghorst away.

According to The Guardian, their main priority to fill the void left by the Netherlands international is Cameroon international forward Vincent Aboubakar, who is another who has been linked with Man Utd this month.

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Ironically, Aboubakar is only on the move because he has been forced out of Al-Nassr by the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, whose contract with the Premier League club was terminated by a mutual agreement.

There are no obvious obstacles in this deal, suggesting that Weghorst to Man Utd could be speedily concluded.

Will Weghorst score goals for Man Utd?

Weghorst is a journeyman striker but has been a prolific scorer at almost all of his clubs. Indeed, the exception was his previous stint in the Premier League, when he netted only twice for Burnley in 20 matches.

Prior to that, he had struck double figures in six successive seasons with Heracles, AZ and Wolfsburg, grabbing at least 16 goals in each of the three Bundesliga seasons that he completed.

Throughout his career, he has a record that shows he scores close to a goal every two games.