Manchester United told by former coach to trust Erik ten Hag’s decision to sign Wout Weghorst

Manchester United are closing in on the loan signing of Wout Weghorst as Erik ten Hag looks to strengthen his forward line at Old Trafford.

The Burnley forward is currently on loan at Beşiktaş and could soon be recalled and sent to Manchester for the remainder of the season.

United are only looking for players on loan this month after their extraordinary summer spending on the likes of Casemiro and Antony, as well as the fact that the Glazer family are looking to sell the club.

Whilst it is not ideal for the team, who are in desperate need of strengthening to maximise their chances of top four, Ten Hag is using a similar strategy as he did in the summer.

Weghorst is a Netherlands international, and Rene Meulensteen, former United coach, believes that the familiarity is useful in this case.

“Ten Hag knows what he is doing, for sure,” he told BBC Sport.

“He is 30 years old so it is a stop-gap because of the ongoing rumours with the takeover of new owners. That is probably the reason Ten Hag is being forced to do loan deals.

“He needs to do something in the transfer window though, so in this case it’s better to go with someone you know.

“It is not one for the long term but it is somebody who can do a job for them in the short term, especially in the latter stages of a game when they need to force something.”

The Dutch forward will help Ten Hag with depth up front and offer different abilities to Anthony Martial.