Manchester United and short-term stop-gap strikers. It's been a cycle United have struggled through for years, ever since the signing of Romelu Lukaku failed to deliver.
The first and perhaps most symbolic of the club's continued sludge through the mire was in the heady days of January 2020 when Odion Ighalo walked the rarely-trodden path from China back to the Premier League.
The signing of the striker, who left Watford for the Far East three years earlier, made United a bit of a laughing stock. Yet, Ighalo's clear delight at playing for the team he supports endeared him to his fellow fans and four goals and an assist in his first three starts certainly helped as well.
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They came against low-level opposition in the Europa League and Carabao Cup but it was clear Ighalo had something to offer and was a presence off the bench in Premier League games. With his loan stint until the end of the season derailed by the pandemic, there were calls for his time at the club to be extended. It was. A further six months were added to Ighalo's loan.
However, the fairytale ended there. United's form nosedived and Ighalo scored just once more before he returned to China. There wasn't an issue in of itself in extending the Nigerian's stay, the problem was it meant United didn't look to sign a new, long-term striker.
The summer of 2020 saw United bring in Donny van de Beek and then nobody else until the final week of the window when in a rush, Alex Telles, Facundo Pellistri and Edinson Cavani were brought in. A midfielder who has never reached his potential, a left-back who can't defend, a young winger who only made his debut a couple of weeks ago and another stop-gap striker.
Cavani was a quality signing and immediately became a favourite with supporters. His first season was a success with 17 goals and six assists but there was always a risk of injuries, inevitable when you sign a veteran forward as yet another short-term solution. His second season was a non-starter due to injury and extended breaks in Uruguay which tarnished his reputation somewhat amongst supporters.
Cristiano Ronaldo then returned to Old Trafford, and we all know how that ended.
United have been stuck in a self-perpetuating loop of signing one ageing striker to replace another for years. It's so difficult to escape that it's not even stopped under Erik ten Hag.
With Ronaldo's sudden departure, United needed reinforcements in January but the pitfalls of the winter window and a lack of budget meant it had to once again be an outside-of-the-box signing. In came Wout Weghorst. Like Ighalo, there were jokes made at United's expense after bringing in a striker who didn't exactly set the Premier League alight and had since gone on to one of football's retirement leagues.
But also like Ighalo, he has quickly gone about silencing those jokes and proving what a useful asset he can be. Even more so, in fact, as the big Dutchman is starting important league games and looks at home in the team. Weghorst got his first goal in the victory over Nottingham Forest with an instinctive finish but it's his link-up play with the more skilful forwards that have impressed.
He is more than the lumbering target man being signed by the old Burnley might suggest as he likes to drop deep, get the ball into his feet and play nice through balls to the flanks. Unsurprisingly, there's already been the suggestion of making his expected six-month stay a little longer.
Not least from Weghorst himself. When asked by the Athletic if he is working to convince Ten Hag to keep him for longer, he said: “Of course, this is the situation now is how it was, it was for a loan. It’s a massive club so I will try to do everything as good as I can and if it will work out it will be a good option.”
If things continue how they are, there's no reason why United shouldn't bring him in permanently. He's an experienced head, fits well in the team, appears to be a good personality in the dressing room, is a different option to anything else in the squad and, though derivative, his sheer size makes him useful in both boxes.
But if he is signed it can't be just him. United absolutely have to sign a quality striker to lead the line for the next few years to end this reliance on loans and free agents. Whether it's Harry Kane - getting on himself but obviously an elite level player - Victor Osimhen or another high calibre striker, the circle must finally be broken.
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