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Manchester United decided to not make Wout Weghorst’s loan move from Burnley permanent at the end of the season and the Dutchman could soon have a new club.
Christian Falk reports via CaughtOffside that Weghorst is targeted by Bayer Leverkusen due to Patrick Schick’s injury.
The Bundesliga club are reportedly undecided between going for another top option like Niclas Fullkurg or go for an emergency stopgap signing with Weghorst.
Weghorst came to United in the January transfer window as an emergency loan after Martial’s unreliability and Ronaldo’s departure left United without a natural striker.
He came off a good goalscoring loan spell at Besiktas but failed to hit the ground running in Manchester.
In 31 appearances for the club across all competitions, he scored just two goals and notched three assists as his lack of clinical ability frustrated the fans.
Availability became Weghorst’s primary ability as Erik ten Hag kept playing him in the absence of another option.
However, Leverkusen’s interest makes sense as despite his struggles at United, he has been a prolific goalscorer in the German league.
In 144 appearances for VFL Wolfsburg, Weghorst has 70 goals and 22 assists, making a goal contribution once in less than two games.
At United, he will be remembered as the quintessential team player whose presence made others around him play better but his ability to be the No 9 at Old Trafford was always in question.
United will hardly be missing him next season even if they don’t sign another striker as by the end of his spell at the club, his profligacy even forced Ten Hag to use him as a “battering ram” in the No 10 position with Marcus Rashford pushed further forward.
A return to Bundesliga, where he enjoyed his best goalscoring days, would be the best option for everyone involved.
