04 May 2023 , 09:58
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Manchester United are yet to initiate talks with Burnley about keeping Wout Weghorst at Old Trafford beyond the end of the season.
More than a few eyebrows were raised when Erik ten Hag swooped for the Dutch striker in January, with United paying £2.5million in compensation to cut Weghorst's season-long loan with Besiktas short.
The 30-year-old has been a regular under Ten Hag since his surprise switch but has failed to make an impression with fans after scoring just twice in 25 matches. And despite the striker's desire to stay at United long-term, there has been no movement from the club to extend his stint.
According to The Telegraph, Weghorst is set to return to his parent club this summer as things stand. Given that Ten Hag stressed once again earlier this month that the club need to sign a No.9 in the summer, the lack of talks over a fresh deal for Weghorst speaks volumes.
While it remains to be seen if Weghorst would be open to returning to Burnley after the Clarets secured an instant return to the Premier League under Vincent Kompany, the report goes on to outline that the striker has other top-flight admirers despite his miserly returns in front of goal.
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Ten Hag's top summer target is believed to be England captain Harry Kane, who is set to enter the final year of contract with Tottenham. However, a deal for the Spurs talisman would still set Manchester United back around £100million - if they can convince club chairman Daniel Levy to play ball.
Speaking ahead of Thursday's meeting with Brighton, though, Ten Hag bluntly admitted that he is in the dark about how much cash he'll have to spend this summer.
Join the debate! Do you think Man Utd should keep Weghorst for next season? Let us know here.
Erik ten Hag has yet to initiate talks over keeping Wout Weghorst at Manchester United beyond the end of the season (Fran Santiago/Getty)When the Dutchman was asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he knew his transfer budget, he replied: “No, I don’t have influence on that, I don’t have and also I don’t know.
“The only thing I know is that Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, one of the biggest two or three from a fanbase perspective. The club has to compete for the highest in the world - the Champions League and Premier League.
“But in football you need funds to construct squads because, at end of the day, the level of your players decides if you are successful or not. Everyone knows you need funds to construct a squad and high level players cost a lot of money. That’s the situation nowadays in top football.
“I think it’s clear what I want, but it’s not up to me. It’s about others in this club. The family are the owners, they make the decisions, it’s not up to me. I do everything I can and I influence the processes that I’m in charge of.”