Erik ten Hag makes final Man Utd decision on permanent Wout Weghorst transfer

05 May 2023 , 12:03

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Erik ten Hag makes final Man Utd decision on permanent Wout Weghorst transfer

Man United manager Erik ten Hag won't be offering Wout Weghorst a permanent deal at Old Trafford after growing frustrated over his lack of goals since signing in January.

Eyebrows were raised when the Dutch striker arrived on loan, despite his impressive World Cup cameo where he scored twice in a quarter final defeat against Argentina. But billed as a short-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, the 30-year-old has struggled to make an impact at United.

He did start their League Cup final win over Newcastle in February, duly winning his first senior honour. But the former Wolfsburg man has scored just twice in 26 appearances in all competitions, with neither of those strikes coming in the Premier League.

And now the has reported that Ten Hag will be releasing the forward back to his parent club after deciding he is not the solution to United's lack of options up front. And leaves the future of the striker himself very much up in the air.

Weghorst previously moved to the Clarets from Germany ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, but scored just twice before being shipped out to Besiktas on loan for the first few months of this season - before United came calling. He still has a year left on his Burnley contract, but he remains to be seen if new manager Vincent Kompany is keen on a return as he seeks to strengthen his squad after promotion to the Premier League.

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Ten Hag's desperation to sign a striker this summer has been all too apparent, with United publicly courting Tottenham striker Harry Kane. However, the United hierarchy are reluctant to pay more than £80million for the England captain, a stance which may yet chance pending the outcome of the ongoing takeover saga.

Erik ten Hag has made his decision on Wout Weghorst (AP)

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, pivotal in firing Napoli to a first Serie A title in 33 years this season, is also on Ten Hag's radar. Eintracht Frankfurt forward Randal Kolo Muani and Atalanta man Rasmus Hojlund are also names linked to Old Trafford.

The need for reinforcements has been laid bare to Ten Hag in recent weeks, with his team crashing out of the Europa League 5-2 on aggregate to Sevilla, with his squad plagued by injury and suspension for the second leg. And on Thursday, the Red Devils failed to take a major step towards Champions League qualification by losing 1-0 at Brighton.

Ten Hag was furious with his side for their lack of prowess going forward, with his anger compounded by Luke Shaw giving away an injury time penalty for handball that Mac Allister dispatched into the top corner: "We have to be more clinical on our chances we produced in the first half," he fumed afterwards.

Fraser Watson