Wout Weghorst is such an obvious option for Manchester United nobody thought to mention him until their interest emerged on Saturday.
Weghorst is Dutch and has played in the Eredivisie, two consistent threads with the majority of United’s signings under Erik ten Hag. In a January United have resorted to the loan market for a striker, Weghorst represents some progress from Odion Ighalo.
United would be getting a support striker with Premier League experience and recent World Cup pedigree, having extended the Netherlands’ shelf life by 30 minutes with two goals in their pugnacious World Cup quarter-final with Argentina.
Also read: Weghorst confident of completing United loan move
Weghorst, still the property of Burnley, claimed his eighth goal in 16 games on loan at Besiktas on Friday, so he would arrive at United in better goalscoring form than all of their forwards, bar Marcus Rashford.
Yet Weghorst is a contradiction. Figures at United stated almost a month ago the club would target a necessary quality and not plump for a bargain option who is not good enough to improve the squad. Weghorst is nestled in the bargain basket.
The timing of the Weghorst approach coincided with the latest batch of quotes from Ten Hag’s interview with Voetbal International : "The club has bought an unimaginable number of players in recent years who have not been good enough.
“Most purchases have been average and at United average is not good enough. United’s shirt weighs heavily." Weghorst is objectively average - at best.
Burnley announced the signing of Weghorst by depicting him as the tyrannosaurus rex exiting the paddock in Jurassic Park. Some United fans will doubtless regard Weghorst as a Jurassic signing and he is not a blockbuster name.
Weghorst scored two goals in 20 appearances for Burnley following his January arrival last year but their six-year stay in the Premier League expired. Rumbled by the Premier League, he rebuilt his reputation in the Turkish retirement home. Now United deem him worthy of their shirt.
Weghorst was not good enough to start for the Netherlands at the World Cup. Vincent Janssen, to Tottenham Hotspur what Ighalo was to United - only worse - started ahead of Weghorst. So did Cody Gakpo, whom United passed on.
The Netherlands have not produced a world-class forward since Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben’s last hurrah at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In their Euro 2004 squad, the Dutch had Ruud van Nistelrooy, Patrick Kluivert and Roy Makaay; strikers from United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink of Chelsea was cut.
Gakpo, a left winger, was ill-suited to United, although he has the physique to develop into an out-and-out striker. Weghorst is a more balanced alternative yet this is not an era to target the Dutch market for frontmen.
Ten Hag has banked enough goodwill with United fans to have them onside. Had they invested £50m in Gakpo, it would have harmed their chances of bidding for Victor Osimhen or Harry Kane in the summer.
United are now in a position of strength, unlike the terribly timed bid for Marko Arnautovic in early August, an approach that repulsed United matchgoers on integrity grounds. Ten Hag is the one pushing for a reinforcement, forcing the owners’ hand.
Weghorst would be another bold move by Ten Hag, a manager who stripped Cristiano Ronaldo of any influence and clinically ended the player-power era at United. Weghorst is hardly an upgrade on Ronaldo though figures at United have already highlighted his character, a trait as vital as quality with Ten Hag’s additions.
It was Weghorst whom Lionel Messi reputedly chided in the mixed zone after Argentina overcame the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. Weghorst was quickly on the scene after Virgil van Dijk caused a minor tremor by sending the snide Leandro Paredes to earth and the Dutch merit retrospective acclaim for confronting a largely classless Argentina side.
Unlike with Ighalo in 2020, United have acted promptly. They have seven games in 18 days this month. They are believed to have enquired about Weghorst on Thursday, the day Jack Butland’s loan was swiftly finalised.
Ten Hag admitted on Friday United are treading a “thin line” with Anthony Martial, yet to complete 90 minutes in a season he has already been sidelined for 13 weeks through three separate injuries.
Martial, now 27, is seven-and-a-half years into his United career and has broken the 20-goal barrier in only one season. He is a No.9 who does not live up to his number and United need a support striker to keep him on his toes. Edinson Cavani trampled all over them.
He was not an obvious option.
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