Official: Manchester United complete Wout Weghorst loan

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 13 Jan 2023 21:03 GMT
• 2 min read

Manchester United have completed the signing of Netherlands international forward Wout Weghorst on loan from Burnley.

The 30-year-old has arrived at Man Utd on a deal that will see him remain at Old Trafford until the end of the season, though there is no purchase option in the deal, making it likely that he returns to Turf Moor in the summer.

Weghorst has become the Red Devils' second loan addition of the January transfer window, following in the footsteps of Jack Butland, who has arrived on a similar temporary basis from Stoke.

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Man Utd have completed the deal in time for Weghorst to feature in Saturday's Manchester derby, assuming there is no hitch with his registration with the Premier League. They had a 12-noon deadline to beat in order for the Dutchman to be available for that clash.

Three-way negotiations

A deal proved to be complicated for Weghorst, who joins the Red Devils as Cristiano Ronaldo's replacement, primarily because there were three clubs involved in the negotiations.

He had spent the first half of the season on loan to Besiktas, who agreed a compensation package worth €3 million for his deal in Turkey to be terminated at the midway point. Indeed, this was the major sticking point in the transfer as the Super Lig club sought to find a replacement for him before cutting him out of the club.

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Meanwhile, there was little issue negotiating a loan with Burnley, who signed Weghorst from Wolfsburg in 2022 for a fee of €17.5 million.

The Clarets had hoped that he would provide the goals to keep them in the Premier League, but instead he netted only twice in 20 appearances in England's top-flight, which is form that has Man Utd fans concerned that he might not be the right fit for the club.

That, though, was an unusual fallow spell in Weghorst's career. Prior to last term, he had netted double figures in all but two seasons of his professional career, which began in the Netherlands with Emmen in 2012/13 and has also seen him turn out for Heracles, AZ and Wolfsburg.

Manchester United, though, represents the biggest club Wehorst has played for.