Erik ten Hag knew he would need a striker in January as soon as Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract was terminated in November.
He remained insistent that he’d prefer the superstar to be in his plans throughout, possibly partly in the knowledge that he’d be given a small budget in January amid last summer’s £225m spend.
Love him or now loathe him, Ronaldo was undeniably a goalscorer, obviously. To try and replace that mid-season is always costly and with the board identifying the summer as the next stage of their big recruitment drive, Ten Hag doesn’t have bagfuls to spend.
READ MORE: United aiming to complete Weghorst deal
As a result, the Reds boss knew he’d have to be “creative” as United leaned into the loan market. Speaking just after Christmas he admitted: "It is always difficult.
"Strikers are expensive and especially in the winter, you have to set the limits high and we are looking for it, so maybe we have to be creative.
"It is about timing, it is about availability, it is about so many circumstances playing a role." Ten Hag underlined over the summer how he will only jump for a player who is the right fit for his set-up at United.
Continuing these thoughts heading into January, he added: "We do everything that we have in our power to get it done and get the right player in, who fits the balance of the frontlines."
He has landed on Wout Weghorst who will cost £2.5m to bring in on loan for four months. It’s a small-costed gamble, but a gamble nonetheless. In an ideal world, Weghorst would be used sparingly as Anthony Martial stays fit and breaks the 15-goal mark by May.
But that is not the scenario Ten Hag can afford to anticipate in light of the Frenchman’s injury troubles this season, despite his five goals in 12 games, of which seven were starts. The club’s eagerness to bring in Weghorst in time for Saturday’s Manchester derby tells the story.
Martial will remain first-choice but he has not been able to see out a full 90 minutes once this season. So indeed Ten Hag has had to be creative by paying compensation to Besiktas to end the Burnley striker’s season-long loan spell in Turkey early.
Weghorst will likely be nothing more than a stop-gap ahead of a sizeable plunge for a top-tier goal-getter in the summer. But still, Ten Hag was eager not to throw too many pennies into the wishing well this month.
"I think we have a good team when all the players are available," Ten Hag said just after the turn of the new year. "But with many games coming up, I think there is a need.
"But you need one who can have an impact, otherwise you are just burning money and you don’t strengthen the squad and it doesn’t help you." And with that, then, Ten Hag’s pursuit of Weghorst means he thinks the striker can make the "impact" that is worth the cost.
The 30-year-old has scored nine goals in 18 outings for Besiktas this season, albeit in a lower-ranked league. His return at Burnley last season wasn’t appealing, grabbing just two goals in 20 Premier League outings.
But it would be harsh to say he has no track record after scoring 18, 20 and 25 goals in three seasons with Wolfsburg after firing in 27 at Eredivisie outfit AZ Alkmaar the campaign prior.
And the Dutchman’s late brace for his country against eventual champions Argentina at the World Cup showed he has the capability of gritting his teeth in the big moments.
Ten Hag clearly believes he is worth the risk given the money he has in his pocket and the centre-forward situation he faces for the rest of the season at Old Trafford.
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