Man Utd replaces Ronaldo with Weghorst on loan

MANCHESTER: Manchester United completed the loan signing of Dutch international Wout Weghorst for the rest of the season on Friday to bolster Erik ten Hag’s forward options.

The 30-year-old had been on loan at Besiktas from Burnley, but the Turkish giants announced they had received 2.8 million euros ($3 million, £2.5 million) to cut that deal short.

United have been short of strikers since Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract at Old Trafford was terminated in November.

Weghorst joined Burnley from Wolfsburg for £12 million in January 2022 but scored just two Premier League goals as the Clarets were relegated last season.

However, he struck nine times in 18 games for Besiktas and scored twice for the Netherlands in a thrilling World Cup quarter-final against eventual champions Argentina last month.

“I feel privileged to be joining Manchester United,” Weghorst said in a club statement.

“I’ve seen United’s progress under Erik ten Hag this season and can’t wait to start playing my part in pushing the team towards its aims.”

Weghorst was not registered in time to be able to feature against Manchester City on Saturday.

But he will add extra depth with the Red Devils still involved in four competitions.

“Wout has a consistent goalscoring record across several European leagues, and his attributes will add a further dimension to our squad for the remainder of the season,” said United’s football director, John Murtough.

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Weghorst’s late header denies Wales a draw with the Netherlands

CARDIFF: Netherland’s forward Wout Weghorst stood up for his team as he denied the home side Wales a victory in the ongoing UEFA with a late header, boosting the Dutch to a 2-1 triumph.

Wales, fresh with the joy of the World Cup qualification following their victory over Ukraine earlier this week, left annoyed as their search for the maiden victory in the ongoing tournament prolonged with the defeat against the Netherlands.

For their all-important match against the home side Wales, Dutch manager Louis van Gaal named a much-changed Playing XI to their combination which thumped the Belgium 4-1, but Teun Koopmeiners’ strike propelled them to pull ahead earlier in the second half.

The two sides remained locked in a tense battle until two minutes into extra time when Rhys Norrington-Davies’ injury-time header cancelled out the Dutch lead.

Weghorst, on the other hand, nodded home around 100 seconds later to silence the Welsh crowd and made sure his team the victory.

Following their triumph over Wales, the Dutch side have claimed the top spot in Group A4 in the UEFA Nations League. Whereas, Wales remained at the bottom following their back to back defeats in the league.