Wout Weghorst: 3 things Burnley forward will bring to Erik ten Hag and Manchester United

Manchester United are closing in on signing Burnley forward Wout Weghorst on a six-month loan, with the Netherlands striker offering Erik ten Hag’s side something a little different.

Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s Old Trafford departure in November, the United manager hasn’t been shy in admitting that The Reds need to strengthen their forward line but always adds the importance of any addition fitting into the squad.

“I think there is a need [for a striker],” said Ten Hag last week. “But you need one who can have an impact, otherwise you are just burning money and you don’t strengthen the squad.”

Weghorst, who moved from Wolfsburg to Burnley in January last year, is currently on loan in Turkey with Besiktas. He has scored nine times and registered four assists in 18 appearances so far this season.

He isn’t quite the big name of a Joao Felix (who United are also interested in) but he is a big man, who can offer United some different things going forward this season, should the move go through.

Pressing monster

Weghorst, who stands at 6ft 6in, isn’t the typical “long ball” striker who just sits against the backline. Over the last years, he’s been one of the most active defensive forwards across Europe.

An intelligent, meaningful presser. Weghorst could be seen pressing the wide areas to force a turnover, or retreating to the midfield zone to hassle an opposition driving with the ball. He knows the correct triggers and has worked within a cohesive pressing unit at Wolfsburg under Oliver Glasner.

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Ten Hag will find this extremely useful, as he’s looking to slowly build United into a team that suffocates their opponents when out of possession.

Link-up play but dangerous movement

Again, perhaps to the surprise of some, Weghorst is more than comfortable dropping slightly deeper and linking up with teammates who can exploit the space he creates. He can drop into zones and hold onto position well due to his strength, ball control and size.

You only have to look back at United’s fixture against Burnley last term to understand that Weghorst can manipulate the ball and provide opportunities for his teammates.

His ability to quickly turn and take Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay out of the game before sliding in a perfect pass to Jay Rodriguez, who went on to score, was an example of his impressive play with the ball at his feet.

Anthony Martial provides this to the team and Ten Hag believes it holds great importance. It’s good to know that Weghorst can still offer similar attributes whilst also offering some unique skills.

However, Martial is often guilty of focusing on that side of the game and not the ugly stuff inside the box. Weghorst will arrive in the area, and with impressive movement, he is able to create space for himself in dangerous zones.

Plan B

The Netherlands striker was almost the perfect Plan B for his country in the 2022 World Cup, which saw him score twice from the bench against Argentina. His goals took the game all the way to penalties before heartbreak.

Ten Hag has worked with similar types of strikers before in just managerial career and will know just how to get the maximum out of Weghorst.

His stature and size allows him to force defenders into dropping their line or attracting round him; in turn, creating space for his teammates.

Weghorst is also an astute finisher when in front of goal. His poor output at Burnley cannot override his consistent scoring form in the Bundesliga, where he was challenging at the top of the charts alongside Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski.

Being able to have a strong and dominant striker against the backline of opposition will be a useful tool for the rest of the season.