The Red Devils have until midday on Friday to register the striker in time (Picture: Getty)
Manchester United are hopeful Wout Weghorst will have completed his medical by close of play on Thursday with the forward desperate to play in Saturday’s derby.
After several days of negotiations, reports in Turkey claim United have now agreed a deal with Besiktas and the 30-year-old’s loan stay in Istanbul will be cancelled imminently.
The Red Devils will pay around £2.5million in order to sign Weghorst, with that money going directly to Besiktas with parent club Burnley barely involved in the talks.
Weghorst has been granted permission to fly to the north-west and is reportedly so keen to be involved in this weekend’s Manchester derby that he has already collected his belongings and is en route to England now.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Weghorst hopes to complete his medical by the end of the day and wants to be in the squad to face Premier League champions City on Saturday.
In order for that to happen, United will need to complete all the paperwork and register the striker with the Premier League before midday on Friday, giving them around 24 hours.
Weghorst made a massive impact off the bench at the World Cup (Picture: Getty)
The deal is rather complicated, however, with Besiktas needing to terminate Weghorst’s loan before United can then exchange contracts with Burnley.
Besiktas had initially been insisting that Weghorst would only be allowed to leave once a replacement – likely Cameroon frontman Vincent Aboubakar – had been signed, but are now prepared to let the forward leave regardless.
The Netherlands international has made it clear to the Turkish club that he wants to move to Old Trafford as soon as possible and pulled out of training on Wednesday citing an injury.
Even if Weghorst is registered before Friday’s noon deadline, it remains to be seen if he will be thrust straight into the matchday squad by manager Erik ten Hag.
At best, the former Wolfsburg striker will only have one training session with his new team-mates on Friday.
Although Weghorst struggled to make an impact in the Premier League with Burnley in the second half of last season, he has been prolific in the Super Lig – netting eight times and laying on four assists in 16 outings – and also proved to be a serious handful at the World Cup, especially in the quarter-final against Argentina.
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The Red Devils have until midday on Friday to register the striker.
