Man Utd's 7 loan players this century and how they fared ahead of Weghorst debut

Wout Weghorst is poised to make his Manchester United debut on Wednesday when Erik ten Hag and co travel to Crystal Palace.

The Dutch striker is set to become the 12th player to turn out for the Red Devils' first-team while on loan since the year 2000.

Brought in from second-tier side Burnley last Friday until the end of what promises to be an exciting season at Old Trafford, manager Ten Hag was so keen to sign 30-year-old Weghorst and bolster his attack that United stumped up £2.6million in compensation to Turkish giants Besiktas, where the 6ft 6in Netherlands international had spent the first half of the campaign.

Weghorst is the Red Devils' second signing of the January transfer window, following another loanee in backup goalkeeper Jack Butland, who'll be hopeful of getting just one start before he returns to Crystal Palace. If not, the shot-stopper will join Luke Steele, Rafael Leao - no, not the one from AC Milan, and Andy Kellett in joining on loan this century but failing to feature for the senior side.

With that in mind, here's a look back at the seven players who made an impact - big or small - while on loan at Old Trafford.

Andy Goram

A surprise signing in the second half of the 2000-01 season, Sir Alex Ferguson turned to the late Andy Goram to help remedy the Red Devils' issues between the sticks. As United dealt with an injury crisis between the posts, Ferguson and co were without a senior goalkeeper heading into the run-in.

Bury-born Goram, aptly nicknamed "the Goalie," was a big name above the border, winning five SPL titles in a row for the Glaswegian giants. The 43-times capped Scotland international, then of Motherwell, didn't even believe that the Red Devils were interested, instead presuming that he was being wound up by old friend Ally McCoist when his phone went off.

In a hilarious exchange over the phone, Ferguson said: "Goalie, I want you to come down for three months on loan. Fabien Barthez is injured and Raimond van der Gouw is injured. We've got Bayern Munich [on] Wednesday and Liverpool [on] Sunday." Goram replied: "Coisty, f*** off!"

Ferguson called back two minutes later, bluntly telling him: "You've got 10 seconds to decide yay or naw, ya fat b******!" He was substituted in both of his appearances - a 4-2 win at home to Coventry City and then 2-1 defeat to Southampton - in order for Van der Gouw to be eligible for a Premier League winners' medal.

Having also played cricket for Scotland four times, he passed away on July 2, 2022 aged 58, after a short battle with oesophageal cancer.

Tomasz Kuszczak

Staying in goal, Polish shot-stopper Tomasz Kuszczak arrived at Old Trafford in peculiar circumstances. The Red Devils signed the Hertha Berlin academy graduate in August 2006 from West Bromwich Albion but didn't state the terms of the deal, one which saw goalkeeper Luke Steele and defender Paul McShane head the other way.

Having bid £2.5million for Kuszczak rejected a week earlier, it soon emerged that the Pole was signed initially on loan before becoming a permanent United player at the end of the campaign. On his debut against Arsenal, the Pole redeemed himself by saving a penalty from Gilberto Silva and spent nearly the entirety of his six years in Manchester playing second fiddle to Edwin van der Sar.

Kuszczak racked up a total of 32 appearances, helping Ferguson's side win the Premier League on four occasions and the Champions League in 2008.

Henrik Larsson

The Red Devils aren't known so much for cult heroes as they are bona fide legends, but Henrik Larsson is certainly in the former category. Having scored a sensational 242 goals in 313 games for Celtic and later firing Barcelona to Champions League glory, United had long been keen on signing the prolific Swedish striker.

So, not unlike the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016, Larsson arrived in the twilight of his career, with the aim of seeing out the 2006-07 campaign and ensuring that Ferguson's men won their first league title in four years. The 35-year-old scored a goal on his debut against Aston Villa and bagged two more strikes before returning to his native side Helsingborg.

"He's been fantastic for us," Ferguson before Larsson departed. "His professionalism, his attitude, everything he's done has been excellent. We would love him to stay but, obviously, he has made his promise to his family and Helsingborg and I think we should respect that - but I would have done anything to keep him."

Carlos Tevez

So, with Ferguson needing a new striker to supplement Wayne Rooney in the Red Devils' forward line, who was available? Having fired West Ham to safety the previous term, Carlos Tevez piqued the interest of a host of Premier League sides and the newly-crowned champions won the race.

A two-year loan which involved complicated third-party ownership from agent Kia Joorabchian's Media Sports Investment, the tenacious Argentine didn't take long to convince the Old Trafford faithful that he was worth the hassle. Scoring 19 goals as United won both the Premier League and Champions League in his first season, Tevez forged an electric forward combination with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

After another stellar turn the following campaign, as the Red Devils romped to a joint-record 18th league title, his controversial move to Manchester City soured his relationship with the Old Trafford faithful, tainting those fond memories.

Radamel Falcao

Five years after Tevez's departure, United went back into the loan market for another South American striker. With Louis van Gaal deciding to ship out Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez, the enigmatic Dutchman took a chance on Radamel Falcao, who was returning from an ACL injury he suffered early the previous season.

A formidable marksman for Porto and Atletico Madrid, the Colombian was one of newly-minted Monaco's big-money signings for £50million in 2013. When Van Gaal came calling a year later, though, those on the French Riviera took the opportunity to offload him from the wage budget, knowing deep down that Falcao might not be the same player after missing nearly a full year of football.

Monaco's suspicions were confirmed when he scored a mere four goals in 26 games for the Red Devils and was sent back, only for Jose Mourinho to take a chance on him the following term at Chelsea. Another failure.

Odion Ighalo

Less of a name but ultimately making more of an impact than Falcao, Odion Ighalo is another cult hero who did an admirable job during his initial six-month loan from mega-rich Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua. A boyhood United fan with infectious enthusiasm, the Nigerian was desperate to play under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and scored five goals over 19 appearances - all in cup competitions as the Red Devils reached the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and Europa League in the lockdown period of 2019-20.

Solskjaer was so pleased with Ighalo that he extended his loan deal for another six months. However, the arrival of fellow veteran striker Edinson Cavani drastically reduced his playing time and the ex-Watford hitman left to sign for Saudi Arabian side Al-Shabab.

Martin Dubravka

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Last and perhaps least on this list, Martin Dubravka would've still been on loan at Old Trafford had Newcastle not recalled him on New Year's Day. Having joined United on a season-long loan deal in September to provide competition for undisputed No.1 David De Gea, the Slovakian goalkeeper only made two appearances this term and failed to convince fans that he was a reliable deputy.

Newcastle's decision to bring back their former first-choice shot-stopper prompted Ten Hag to bring in another short-term shot-stopper Butland, who alongside towering target man Weghorst will aim to make a success of their brief stay at the club.