Wout Weghorst to Manchester United: Make it make sense
From the outside, this could look like a strange connection, even an absurd, desperate transfer, but it just might make sense. A 30-year-old target man, who didn’t exactly make that much of a mark during his time in the Premier League, so just how would this fit work?
Rumour has it that Erik ten Hag is considering bringing Dutch forward Wout Weghorst to Manchester United, somewhat as short-term fix for their striker problem.
Weghorst, who is still currently on the books of now Championship Burnley, has spent the first half of the season on loan at Turkish side Besiktas. The 6ft 6 frontman has scored nine goals in all competitions at club level this year, again, not lighting the world a light.
Despite his stuttering club form, the Dutch man did make an impact in this years World Cup, scoring two stoppage time goals to keep his country in a quarter-final versus eventually winners Argentina.
Ten Hag has made it clear he wants at least one forward this window, but did admit he would need to be ‘creative’ with his budget. Players such as Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix have been linked with a move, but at this time, seems well out of United’s price range.
Some fans will liken this move to when Odion Ighalo joined in 2016 for six months from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua, but this link certainly feels a lot more thought through, despite its ludicrous nature.
So why is ten Hag looking at Weghorst to fill this hole?
In some ways it’s because United have nothing like him in their squad. United are in a transition and he could give them another dimension on their quest to make the top four, in the hope they can attract an elite forward in the summer.
Despite not blowing up records in his first stint in the Premier League, Weghorst’s career goalscoring record is rather impressive. At Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, he scored 70 goals in 144 games and at Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, where he was before Germany, he amassed 45 goals in 86 games.
"He is different, that is why Ten Hag is bringing him in," says Rene Meulensteen to BBC Sport, who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2007 and 2013.
"He offers something else that the other Manchester United forwards don't have - but I don't think he will be a starter every game.
"He is tall, standing at 6ft 6in, and if United need to go a bit more direct and play off the knockdown, he is the type of guy that can offer that in the box. He is good at link-up play too, you can give him the ball then play through him.”
It’s no secret that Weghorst would only be a stop gap, but to look at this potential transfer as outlandish, would be pushing it. He’s a seasoned target man, who has consistently scored goals. Weghorst is also someone who ten Hag knows, and so far, the United manager hasn’t got mush wrong. Put this Dutchman in a pacy, in-form side, and he will probably do a good job for you.
This transfer is still just a rumour, and would have a lot of loose ends to tie up, but could be one to surprise many, and certainly not one to rule out from the off.
