Wout Weghorst

Wout François Maria Weghorst (born 7 August 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim, on loan from club Burnley, and the Netherlands national team.

Weghorst began his professional career in the second tier of Dutch football with Emmen.

Born in Borne, Overijssel, Weghorst started his career at local clubs RKSV NEO and DETO Twenterand, before joining Eredivisie club Willem II in 2011.

Despite having the opportunity to make his way into the first-team, he never broke through, and only featured for the reserve team.

He signed for Eerste Divisie club Emmen in 2012.

He made his debut on 10 August 2012, in a match against Dordrecht which ended 1–1.

Weghorst would go on the score his first goal in professional football a month later, in the derby against Veendam, a match that ended in a 2–1 win for Emmen.

He managed to play in 28 league matches in his debut season, scoring 8 goals.

After his spell with Emmen, Weghorst signed a contract with Eredivisie club Heracles Almelo on a free transfer.

On 9 August, Weghorst made his Eredivisie debut for Heracles Almelo, in a 0–3 home loss against AZ in the Polman Stadion.

He was a regular starter in his two years in Almelo.

In the first season the club battled relegation from the Eredivisie, but his second season was more successful with Heracles ending in the sixth spot and, through the subsequent play-offs, the club qualified for the Europa League qualifying round – the first time in Heracles Almelo history that the club qualified for an international competition.

Weghorst made one appearance for the Netherlands under-21 team in 2014, before making his senior international debut in March 2018.

After the successful season with Heracles, Weghorst signed a four-year contract with AZ in July 2016, with the option for an extra year.

On 24 November 2016 he scored his first European goal which proved to be the winning goal in a 0–1 win in a UEFA Europa League group match against Irish team Dundalk.

He was appointed ahead of the season as vice-captain to Ron Vlaar.

Weghorst started the 2017–18 season with good form, displayed by 7 goals in his first 13 starts.

He then played in the Eredivisie with Heracles Almelo and AZ, before joining VfL Wolfsburg in 2018.

After scoring 70 goals in 144 games for Wolfsburg, he was signed by Burnley in January 2022 for a fee of £12 million.

After the club were relegated from the Premier League, Weghorst had loan spells at Turkish Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and Premier League club Manchester United.

He continued that form and after scoring 20 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions, he earned his first full international call-up in Ronald Koeman's first Dutch squad in March 2018.

He finished the season joint third top scorer in the Eredivisie with 18 goals with Steven Berghuis, both behind top scorer Alireza Jahanbakhsh (with 21) and runner up Bjørn Johnsen (with 19).

Weghorst also had six assists.

On 26 June 2018, Weghorst signed a four-year contract with Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.

He finished his first season in Germany with 17 goals, ranking joint-third in the Bundesliga goalscoring charts for the 2018–19 campaign.

On 16 March 2019, he scored his first hat-trick for Wolfsburg, and first by any player for the club since Mario Gómez in April 2017, in a 5–2 league win over Fortuna Düsseldorf.

In the 2019–20 season, Weghorst produced another impressive goal return, scoring 16 times in the league as Wolfsburg finished 6th.

He represented the Netherlands at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he scored two goals in the quarter-final match against Argentina.

Weghorst scored twice in the 2020–21 Europa League qualifying rounds, but Wolfsburg ultimately failed to qualify for the group stage, losing to Greek team AEK Athens in the playoff round.

On 31 January 2022, Weghorst signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with English Premier League club Burnley for a fee of £12 million.

Weghorst made his debut for the club on 5 February, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw with Watford at Turf Moor.

Weghorst scored his first goal for the club on 19 February in a 3–0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion, helping to end an eleven game winless run for his new club.

His second Burnley goal came on 17 April, in a 1–1 draw against West Ham United.

On 5 July 2022, Weghorst signed for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season.

He made his Süper Lig debut on 6 August in a 1–0 home win against Kayserispor.

He scored his first league goal on 21 August, with the opening goal against Fatih Karagümrük in a 4–1 win for Beşiktaş.

On 7 January 2023, he scored a goal in his last match for Beşiktaş which ended in a 2–1 victory over Kasımpaşa.

His loan to Beşiktaş was cancelled in January ahead of a loan to Manchester United, with a £3 million loan fee being split between Burnley and Beşiktaş.

On 13 January, Weghorst signed for United on loan until the end of the season.

He was given the number 27 shirt most recently worn by Alex Telles.