Man Utd waiting to find out if Burnley can come to an agreement with Besiktas to cut Wout Weghorst's loan short; it is thought the player wants to make the move to Old Trafford; United must register Weghorst by 12pm on Friday for him to be available for the Manchester derby on Saturday

Manchester United have contacted Burnley about signing striker Wout Weghorst on loan - but why is the Netherlands international in demand?

The 30-year-old is currently on loan at Besiktas and the Turkish club are reportedly seeking compensation before a deal can be struck. United are desperate to sign a striker on loan during the January window after severing ties with Cristiano Ronaldo during the World Cup following the player's explosive interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised the club and manager Erik ten Hag.

Weghorst appeared to wave an emotional goodbye to the club's fans after scoring the winner in a 2-1 Super Lig victory over Kasimpasa at the weekend - but a move to Old Trafford hangs in the balance while all three clubs broker a deal.

The striker scored twice for the Netherlands in the World Cup quarter-finals against eventual winners Argentina, with the second arguably being one of the most dramatic goals in the competition's history - levelling the scores from an inventive free-kick pass to send the game into extra-time.

Those figures are a stark contrast to his returns in the Premier League with Burnley last term, when he netted only two goals in 20 games - but his broader play during that period provides clues to Ten Hag's current interest in the player.

The graphic below shows every shot and chance created by Weghorst at Burnley last term and reveals he fired shots on target only nine times from 25 attempts across his 20 appearances - equating to an eight-per-cent conversion rate or 728 minutes per goal.

Pressing and running

Ten Hag has frequently alluded to raising his side's intensity levels, both in the press and covering the hard yards.

The Dutch manager suffered a tough induction at the club, losing to Brighton on the opening day before suffering a shock 4-0 defeat to Brentford.

The Bees covered 13.8km more than United on the day, prompting Ten Hag to order his team to run that very same distance in training the following day.

It was widely believed Ronaldo's limited game-time under Ten Hag was due to the Portugal international's diminished returns in the press and running distances. In contrast, Weghorst excels in these areas.

The striker out-pressed every player in the division last term, averaging at 48.7 per game - pipping workhorses such as Pablo Fornals, Sean Longstaff and Dejan Kulusevski.