Man Utd make ‘transfer breakthrough’ with Weghorst to fly to Manchester today for medical
Man Utd have made a breakthrough in their pursuit of Wout Weghorst by agreeing to pay a compensation fee to Besiktas, according to reports.
The Red Devils are desperate to bring in a striker this month after Cristiano Ronaldo left the club at the end of November by mutual consent.
His decision to give a controversial interview to Piers Morgan – in which he criticised the club, manager, senior executives, former players and more – meant there was no way back for him at Old Trafford.
And that has left Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag with just Marcus Rashford – who has been in brilliant form this season – and an injury-prone Anthony Martial as his main two striker options.
Weghorst has emerged as their main target to strengthen that area of their squad with the Red Devils looking to take a striker on a loan deal until the end of the season before investing in a permanent summer signing.
The 30-year-old has scored eight goals and provided four assists in 16 matches for Besiktas in Turkey with the Netherlands international moving there on loan from Championship side Burnley in the summer.
And now the Daily Express claim that Man Utd are ‘finally set to sign Wout Weghorst on loan after agreeing a compensation fee with Besiktas’ with the newspaper describing it as a ‘transfer breakthrough’.
The Daily Express adds: ‘United have paid in the region of £2.7million to unlock the move following initial exploratory talks with parent club Burnley last week.’
And transfer expert Fabrizio Romano later said that Weghorst will now fly to Manchester to “undergo medical tests and then sign contracts”.
Romano wrote on Twitter: “Wout Weghorst to Manchester United, here we go! All conditions revealed on Tuesday are confirmed: Man Utd pay €3m to Besiktas then sign Weghorst on loan from Burnley. Understand Weghorst will fly to Manchester today to undergo medical tests and then sign contracts.”
But there has been a lot of doubt over Weghorst’s potential impact at Old Trafford with Dutch legend Wesley Sneijder calling the transfer “very strange”.
Sneijder said on Veronica Offside: “Surely not! I would find that very strange.”
“Maybe they’ve seen the trick with the free-kick [in the World Cup quarter-final against Argentina] but I don’t think they fall for that in England anymore!
“In terms of a striker, is he really someone United are waiting for? I don’t think so.”
When asked if Weghorst gives Man Utd something different, Sneijder added: “They still have about 300 of those in the Premier League. It must be a stunt. This really can’t be true.”
READ MORE: Wout Weghorst might be a sloppy bodge job but exactly what Manchester United need