Wout Weghorst

Wout Weghorst (born 7 August 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Netherlands national team.

Wout Weghorst
Weghorst with AZ in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-08-07) 7 August 1992
Place of birth Borne, Netherlands
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 VfL Wolfsburg
Number 9
Youth career
0000–2010 NEO
2010–2011 DETO
2011–2012 Willem II
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Emmen 62 (20)
2014–2016 Heracles Almelo 64 (20)
2016–2018 AZ 60 (31)
2018– VfL Wolfsburg 86 (47)
National team‡
2014 Netherlands U21 1 (1)
2018– Netherlands 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:16, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:07, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Born in Borne, Overijssel, Weghorst started his career with local clubs RKSV NEO and DETO Twenterand, before evoking interest from Eredivisie team Willem II. Despite having the opportunity to make his way into the first team, he never broke through and therefore signed for Eerste Divisie club FC Emmen.[1] He made his debut on 10 August 2012 in a match against Dordrecht, a match 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 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.[2]

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.[3]

AZ

After the successful season with Heracles, Weghorst signed a four-year contract with AZ in July 2016, with the option for an extra year.[4][5] 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 outfit Dundalk.[6]

He was appointed the season as vice-captain to Ron Vlaar.[7] Weghorst started the 2017–18 season with good form, displayed by 7 goals in his first 13 starts.[8] 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.[9]

He finished the season joint third top scorer in the Erevisie with 18 goals with Steven Berghuis, both behind top scorer Alireza Jahanbakhsh (with 21) and runner up Bjørn Johnsen (with 19).[10] Weghorst also had 6 assists.[11]

VfL Wolfsburg

On 26 June 2018, Weghorst signed a four-year contract with Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg.[12] 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.[13] He finished his first season in Germany with 17 goals, ranking joint-third in the Bundesliga goalscoring charts for the 2018–19 campaign.[14]

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

Weghorst scored twice in the 2020–21 Europa League qualifying rounds, but Wolfsburg ultimately failed to qualify for the group stage, losing to Greek side AEK Athens in the playoff round.[15]

International career

Weghorst made his Netherlands U21 debut on 14 October 2014 and scored on his debut against Portugal U21 in a 5–4 defeat.[16]

He earned his first full international call-up in Ronald Koeman's first Dutch squad in March 2018.[17] He made his senior international debut in an international friendly against England on 23 March 2018 at the Amsterdam Arena.[18]

Style of play

At 1.97 m, Weghorst has played as a centre-forward, with him being used in a 'target man' type role due to his ability to hold up the play and his heading ability. He is also renowned as a goal poacher with good reactive finishing in and around the box.[19][20]

Career statistics
As of match played 6 February 2021.[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other[nb 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Emmen 2012–13 Eerste Divisie 28820——308
2013–14 341221——3613
Total 622041——6621
Heracles Almelo 2014–15 Eredivisie 31831——349
2015–16 331221—423915
Total 642052—427324
AZ 2016–17 Eredivisie 291340121444918
2017–18 311869—003727
Total 6031109121448645
VfL Wolfsburg 2018–19 Bundesliga 341721——3618
2019–20 32162292—4320
2020–21 20143332—2619
Total 864776124—10557
Career total 272118261824586330147
Notes
  1. Includes Eredivisie playoff matches

References
  1. ""Willen is kunnen" - Wout Weghorst" ["To want is to be able" - Wout Weghorst]. RKSVNEO.nl (in Dutch). 14 April 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. "Wout Weghorst de nieuwe Bas Dost van Heracles Almelo" [Wout Weghorst the new Bas Dost for Heracles Almelo]. RTVOost.nl (in Dutch). 20 July 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  3. "Heracles gaat Europa in! Dat is geen wonder, dat is echt" [Heracles goes to Europe! It is not a dream, it is real]. Tubantia.nl (in Dutch). 22 May 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  4. "AZ legt Weghorst vast" [AZ signs with Weghorst]. AZ.nl (in Dutch). 6 July 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  5. Weghorst zet met AZ-transfer volgende stap in ontwikkeling (Dutch). Voetbal International. 5 July 2016.
  6. "Wout Weghorst scores to see off Dundalk". independent.ie. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  7. "Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorers". ELF Voetball. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  8. "Could Wolves pull clear by signing Wout Weghorst, Cardiff City's one-that-got-away?". hitc.com. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  9. (Dutch). NU.nl. 7 March 2018.
  10. "Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  11. "Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  12. Weghorst joins Wolfsburg from Alkmaar. VfL Wolfsburg. 26 June 2018.
  13. "Wolfsburg hat-trick hero Wout Weghorst blows away Fortuna Düsseldorf". Bundesliga. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  14. "Bundesliga 2018-19 Top Scorer". Worldfootball.net. Heim:Spiel. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  15. "Last minute founder in Athens ends Wolfsburg's European dream". Bulinews. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  16. "Portugal Under 21s 5 Holland Under 21s 4". skysports.com. Sky Sports UK. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  17. "Weghorst: 'Plek in voorselectie Oranje stap naar allergrootste droom'". nu.nl (in Dutch). Sanoma Media Netherlands. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  18. "Koeman's debut as Netherlands boss ends with defeat to England". football-oranje.com. Football Oranje. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  19. "Soccer's Data Stars are Changing the Game Forever – And Making Money Doing It". Red Herring.
  20. https://www.fifaindex.com/player/223689/wout-weghorst//
  21. "Wout Weghorst » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
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