How is ex-Burnley and Man Utd star Wout Weghorst getting on at Ajax? | OneFootball

Taking a look at life at Ajax for Wout Weghorst following summer Burnley exit

Wout Weghorst made his permanent exit from Burnley at the end of the summer transfer window.

The Dutch forward had spent the previous two campaigns on loan away from Burnley, joining the likes of Besiktas, Manchester United, and Hoffenheim on a temporary basis.

The 32-year-old made two substitute appearances in Scott Parker’s side this season, coming off the bench in wins over Luton Town and Cardiff City.

But the 5-0 victory over the Bluebirds proved to be his final game for the club in what was an underwhelming stint at Turf Moor.

It was reported by Ben Jacobs that Burnley received just £2 million for his sale to Ajax, which was confirmed in the final days of the summer market.

Wout Weghorst’s start to life at Ajax

Weghorst has not yet had the chance to play for Ajax since signing for the club at the end of August.

The international break meant that he was instead with the Dutch national team for the first two weeks of September.

He came off the bench in both of the Netherlands’ two Nations League games, bagging a goal in their 5-2 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Ajax will return to action for the first time since the break on Wednesday evening with a clash against Fortuna Sittard, which gets underway at 7pm, 8pm local time.

The Dutch giants did play on the day he signed but Weghorst was unavailable for selection.

Ajax won 3-0 in a Europa League play-off second leg, earning them a 7-1 aggregate victory against Jagiellonia Białystok.

Goals from Kian Fitz-Jim, Kenneth Taylor, and Brian Brobbey secured safe passage into the league phase of the secondary European cup competition.

The Eredivisie side were drawn to face the likes of Real Sociedad, Lazio, and Galatasaray as a reward for their qualification, as well as Weghorst’s former club Besiktas.

Wout Weghorst’s Ajax competition

Weghorst will be looking to earn regular minutes at Ajax once the team gets back up and running following the international break.

Francesco Farioli has a number of attacking options to choose from this season, including the likes of Chuba Akpom, Julian Rijkhoff, and Brobbey.

Farioli has opted for a traditional Ajax formation of 4-3-3 so far, having been appointed the new manager over the summer.

This means that Weghorst will likely be competing with Brobbey for regular minutes as a starter.

The 22-year-old has started one of their first two league games, coming off the bench in the other, and started 29 of his 30 appearances in the team last year as well (all stats from Fbref).

It remains to be seen who will be Farioli’s long-term first-choice option to lead the line, with both being included in the national team set up under Ronald Koeman.

Meanwhile, Burnley still have Lyle Foster, Jay Rodriguez, and Andreas Hountondji in Parker’s squad, meaning they are not short of options themselves after Weghorst’s permanent departure as they push for promotion.

Ajax will be aiming to earn their place back among the top sides in the Eredivisie this year after a horrible campaign last season saw them finish fifth in the table, 35 points off top spot.