Burnley have signed the Netherlands international Wout Weghorst from Wolfsburg for a reported £12m fee. The 6ft 6in striker has a three-and-a-half-year contract and is due to train with his new teammates on Monday.
“Wout is a player that our scouts have been strong on for some time and we feel that he can add to all that we do at Burnley Football Club,” said the manager, Sean Dyche. “His signing is a continued show of the club’s and team’s development. We wish Wout well as he earns the right to push our group forwards.”
The 29-year-old, capped 12 times, has scored 59 goals in 118 Bundesliga appearances. His arrival follows the departure of Chris Wood to Newcastle for £25m.
Burnley are bottom of the Premier League, with games in hand, after scoring only 16 goals in 18 games. “I am a striker with a strong mentality, I score goals and that is my biggest quality,” Weghorst said. “I am good in the penalty box and I can link up play.”
Benfica have rejected a West Ham bid for Darwin Núñez. The offer was £50m plus £10m in add-ons for the Uruguay forward, which would have been a record for West Ham, but the Portuguese club have no intention of selling.
It comes after West Ham were frustrated in pursuit of the Leeds forward Raphinha and his clubmate Kalvin Phillips, a midfielder, despite making club-record bids.
The Liverpool defender Nat Phillips has joined promotion-chasing Bournemouth on loan until the end of the season. The 24-year-old has been the subject of widespread interest this month, with Liverpool receiving two permanent bids of £7m and inquiries from Newcastle and Leicester, but the prospect of more regular first-team football with Scott Parker’s side proved more attractive to Phillips and the Anfield club.
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Newcastle’s offer was a loan with a commitment to buy if they avoided relegation. Leicester also made an approach but Liverpool believed the defender would be only a back-up option for both Premier League suitors. Burnley were keen on Phillips in the event of James Tarkowski leaving but that has not materialised.
Liverpool will receive a loan fee of £1.5m from Bournemouth plus an additional £250,000 if Parker’s team win promotion back to the Premier League.
Brighton have signed the German forward Deniz Undav from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise but the Belgian league leaders will keep him on loan for the rest of the season. The 25-year-old has scored 35 goals and made 18 assists in 52 games for the club.
Crystal Palace have taken up an option to make the striker Jean-Philippe Mateta’s loan from Mainz into a permanent deal on a contract to 2026 and have signed the 19-year-old forward Luke Plange from Derby County, who will keep him on loan for the rest of the season.
