Burnley FC: High-profile signing flopped but Man United took some heat off with £2.6m exchange | OneFootball

Burnley’s signing of Wout Weghorst was undoubtedly a flop, but Manchester United helped the Clarets recoup some of the wasted funds.

Like every club up and down the country, Burnley will have some regrets over transfer deals that didn’t work out.

The Clarets have had largely successful spells in the Premier League over the last decade, spending eight out of the last ten seasons in the top flight.

Receiving astronomical amounts of money for reaching and staying in the Premier League, Burnley have been very active in transfer markets every year, recruiting players in a number of positions to bolster squads.

One arrival who didn’t have the desired impact was Dutch forward Wout Weghorst, who joined the club on a permanent deal back in January 2022 from German outfit Wolfsburg.

Firmly in a relegation battle that season, Weghorst was tasked with providing enough ammunition to keep the Lancashire-based club in the top flight, but he failed to do so and the Clarets were relegated back down to the second tier.

Spending a reported £12 million fee for the 32-year-old’s services, Burnley will certainly look back on this move with frustration, but Premier League heavyweights Manchester United would go on to help the Clarets earn some money back on the move, much to their relief.

Wout Weghorst’s career at Burnley

In a short and dismal spell at Turf Moor, Wout Weghorst failed to get up to speed with the demands of English football, with his lack of end product costing them their place in the Premier League.

Despite having high expectations, the frontman struggled to deliver, returning just two goals from 20 top flight matches, with Burnley’s six-season stay in the Premier League brought to an end.

Not doing the job required of him, Weghorst was then reluctant to help Burnley in the Championship, forcing a loan move away to Besiktas, before Manchester United approached him over a return to England’s top division.

Burnley boosted by Manchester United loan fee for Wout Weghorst

According to The Guardian, Burnley received a £2.6 million loan fee from Manchester United to take Wout Weghorst on loan during the January transfer window of 2023, with the Dutchman playing his football under fellow native Erik ten Hag.

In an attempt to showcase his goalscoring prowess in the Premier League, Weghorst once again fell short, unable to score a league goal from 17 top flight appearances, and only netting once during their Europa League campaign.

Proving to be ineffective in England, Burnley must have been delighted to recoup some of the £12 million transfer, with Weghorst eventually making a permanent move away last summer to Ajax after having a loan spell at Hoffenheim following his dismal stint at Old Trafford.

Wout Weghorst fee eased some of the financial burden on Burnley

Wout Weghorst has struggled in English football at Burnley and Manchester United

Wout Weghorst will go down as one of Burnley’s most disastrous signings, with a poor attitude and terrible goalscoring record, leaving lots of blame at the door of the recruitment team.

Resources could have been better spent on another forward who was an established Premier League goalscorer and had the attributes to be successful in a physical Burnley side.

A punt on a forward from overseas always brought its risks, but the Clarets did slightly get away with it due to Manchester United's generous spending.

These added funds have helped Burnley to build a competitive squad in the Championship and fight towards the top end of the second tier, holding hopes that an immediate return to the top flight is on the cards.

If the Clarets can make their way back to the Premier League, then lessons will have to be learned to not recruit a similar forward to Weghorst, particularly if they are languishing towards the bottom end of that division at some point in the future.