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Premier League: Mid-season loan signings who made a difference

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag sang the praises of January loan signing Wout Weghorst following the 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round win over West Ham, but the forward is not the first temporary arrival to light up the Premier League midway through a season.

Dutch striker Weghorst joined United on a half-season loan during the winter transfer window from Championship high-flyers Burnley and although he has only scored once for Ten Hag's team, his performances have caught the eye.

In his short time at Old Trafford, Weghorst has helped United to their first major trophy in six years with victory in the EFL Cup, as well as featuring in their Europa League round of 16 success over Barcelona.

With United still in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple come the end of the season, Weghorst could end up becoming one of the most successful January loans in Premier League history.

The Red Devils are 9/4 in the To Win Outright market to lift the FA Cup, 5/2 to enjoy continental success in the Europa League and 14/1 to hunt down Arsenal and Manchester City to claim a first Premier League title for a decade.

Achieve all that and Weghorst's accomplishments in Manchester would be hard to top, but which other players have lit up the Premier League after securing temporary switches midway through a season?

WhatPremier League 2022/23
WhereEngland
When5th August 2022 - 28th May 2023 
How to watchSky Sports, BT Sport & Amazon Prime
OddsArsenal 10/11, Man City 11/10, Man Utd 14/1

Henrik Larsson - Manchester United

Weghorst is not the first international striker to pitch up at Old Trafford midway through a season to become an instant hit, and no we are no talking about Odion Ighalo, but instead a certain Henrik Larsson, who arrived at the club from Helsingborgs on a three-month loan during January 2007.

Larsson had previously starred for both Celtic and Barcelona - winning the Champions League with the latter - and despite only scoring once in seven Premier League appearances for United, he played a crucial role in their title success that year.

The Swede also netted in both the FA Cup and in Europe during his brief stay in Manchester, with then United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitting his only regret was that Larsson did not stay for longer.

Christophe Dugarry - Birmingham City

France striker Christophe Dugarry had won both the World Cup and European Championship with France and represented clubs such as Marseille, Barcelona and AC Milan by the time he pitched up at Birmingham City on loan in January 2003.

The Blues were aiming to add some stardust to their team in an attempt to avoid an immediate return back to the second tier following promotion the previous season and Dugarry did not disappoint, scoring five goals in 15 games and putting in many more artistic displays.

Dugarry signed permanently upon helping Birmingham stay up, but the love affair ended prematurely as he left midway through the 2003/04 season, although his position as a St Andrew's icon was already assured.

Kevin Campbell - Everton

English striker Kevin Campbell enjoyed a trophy-laden career with Arsenal during the early 1990s, but by the time he joined Everton from Turkish club Trabzonspor in 1999, it appeared his best days may have been behind him.

As was the norm during that era, Everton were battling to preserve their Premier League status.

However, the arrival of Campbell proved a masterstroke, as he almost single-handedly kept the Toffees up, scoring nine goals in eight games and picking up the Premier League Player of the Month award in April 1999 - the first loan player to claim that accolade.

Campbell's loan move was unsurprisingly made permanent during that summer and he spent six years in total at Goodison Park before joining West Brom, who he also helped to escape top-flight relegation in 2005.

Daniel Sturridge - Bolton Wanderers

Future Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge was struggling for game time at Chelsea when he opted to join Bolton Wanderers on loan on the final day of the January transfer window in 2011.

Things started well for Sturridge in Lancashire, as he scored a last-minute winner against Wolves on his debut and he went on to net eight times in 12 appearances, with those goals going a long way to helping Bolton preserve their top-flight status.

Sturridge returned to Chelsea that summer before eventually joining Liverpool midway through the 2012/13 season, but Bolton certainly missed his goals, as they were relegated the year after the frontman's successful temporary switch.

Jurgen Klinsmann - Tottenham Hotspur

Germany World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann established himself as a Tottenham legend after scoring 30 goals across all competitions during his first spell in north London in the 1994/95 season.

Klinsmann left White Hart Lane at the end of that campaign, but returned midway through the 1997/98 season on loan from Sampdoria, with the club fighting to retain their top-flight status.

Spurs fans were ecstatic to hear of Klinsmann's return and they were right to be, as he netted nine goals in 15 appearances to steer his side away from the relegation trap door, including grabbing four in a 6-2 victory over Wimbledon. 

Perhaps surprisingly Klinsmann opted to retire after that summer's World Cup, bar a brief spell playing for American team Orange County Blue Star in 2003. 

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