Erik ten Hag holds secret transfer meeting with Manchester United target
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag met with Burnley ace Wout Weghorst in the Netherlands in a bid to convince him to join the club.
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The Red Devils are closing in on a move for the 30-year-old, who is on a season-long loan at Besiktas from Burnley.
Though Weghorst struggled in Lancashire, he’s rediscovered his best form in Turkey by scoring nine goals in 19 appearances.
However, Weghorst’s family have struggled to settle in Istanbul and he’s said to be unhappy with the level of the club’s training sessions.
Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit in November, United scoured the market for attacking options and Weghorst was quickly identified by Ten Hag, who hails from the same region of Holland as the striker.
According to Turkish outlet Fanatik, Ten Hag called Weghorst to personally inform him of the club’s interest.
During the phone call, Ten Hag set-up a one-on-one meeting with the striker to personally convey how much he wanted him to move to Old Trafford.
The pair met up in Haaksbergen, close to the German border, to discuss a move to the Theatre of Dreams.
Weghorst was said to be so pleased with how the meeting went that he gave his wife the green light to fly to Manchester in order to scout out properties for the family to reside in.
Besiktas will be due compensation from Burnley for cutting short the season-long loan deal, but this is likely to be covered for United.
It’s unclear at this stage whether United will sanction a six-month loan deal for Weghorst or sign him on a permanent basis.
Weghorst joined Burnley in January 2022 for a fee of £12m.
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