Manchester United are set to complete the loan signing of Wout Weghorst until the end of the season – but they face a race against the clock to get him involved in the derby this weekend.
Burnley striker Weghorst, 30, is on loan at Besiktas until the end of the season, but the Turkish club are now understood to have accepted £2.5million in compensation to let him join United.
Besiktas want to bring in a replacement for Weghorst before signing off on the deal, with Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar set to join them after leaving Al-Nassr to make way for Cristiano Ronaldo. There are a few moving parts to the deal, which means Weghorst’s involvement in the Manchester derby on Saturday is touch and go.
Although a breakthrough was made by United on Tuesday, they have a few more hoops to jump through. In order for Weghorst to be eligible to play against Manchester City in the 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday, he would need to be registered with the Premier League by midday on Friday.
That means United are reliant on Besiktas tying up a deal for Cameroon international Aboubakar, who left them to join Al-Nassr in 2021. The 30-year-old has been sidelined in Saudi Arabia by Ronaldo, who has also upped their overseas player quota.
Weghorst, seen by United as a short-term fix until the end of the season, has scored nine goals in 18 games for Besiktas and impressed for Holland at the World Cup, scoring twice against eventual winners Argentina in the quarter-finals, including a dramatic equaliser to take the match to extra-time.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Wout Weghorst a good signing for Manchester United? Comment below.
After United's 3-0 win over Charlton on Tuesday night, Erik ten Hag was asked by reporters if he could provide an update on the Weghorst deal. "No, unfortunately I can’t," he replied.
He joined Burnley in January 2022 on a three-and-a-half-year deal from Wolfsburg for a fee of £12m. Weghorst contributed two goals and three assists in 20 Premier League matches, but could not prevent the Clarets from being relegated to the Championship.
United reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night thanks to the win over League One team Charlton. Antony opened the scoring with a curling effort in the first half before Marcus Rashford came off the bench to continue his remarkable goalscoring form with a brace.
Rashford poked in from Facundo Pellistri’s pass before beating the offside trap to make it 3-0 in injury-time. He has now scored in eight successive games for the club and has 15 goals in 25 appearances in total this season.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Ten Hag was delighted with his impact. "He's in great form, it's great to see,” he said. “Playing with a big smile on his face is the most important thing – enjoying his football, and long may it continue."
