Wout Weghorst looks to be counting down his final months in Amsterdam. The 33-year-old striker, whose contract at Ajax runs out at the end of the season, is not expected to receive a new deal and is already at the centre of an increasingly lively tug of war for his next move.
For weeks, the Dutch forward has been heavily linked with a return to FC Twente, the club where he broke through in the Eredivisie. The domestic route feels logical: familiar surroundings, a side on the up, and a coach in place who knows exactly what he would be getting. According to De Telegraaf’s Ajax watcher Mike Verweij, the chances of that scenario becoming reality are significant.
“I think Weghorst could be on his way to FC Twente, if FC Twente want him. Ten Hag will be keen on him; he knows him well. There’s a good chance Weghorst will go to Twente,” Verweij said on the Kick-Off podcast, underlining how advanced the idea already feels within Dutch football circles.
Yet the story does not end at Enschede.
From reserve to reluctant substitute
This season in Amsterdam has been a strange one for Weghorst. For a long stretch he lived in the shadow of Kasper Dolberg, restricted to a reserve role and short cameos while Ajax searched for any kind of stability in a turbulent campaign. That dynamic shifted under new manager Óscar García, who handed the veteran a starting berth and, with it, a renewed sense of purpose.
Weghorst responded in the way he usually does: by crashing into duels, pressing defenders, and making himself impossible to ignore in both boxes. On Saturday, he went one better and scored – against FC Twente of all teams – in a match heavy with subtext about his future. His goal, though, could not stop Ajax from slipping to a 1-2 home defeat, another bruising afternoon in a season full of them.
The tension spilled over early in the second half. García decided to change his front line and called Don-Angelo Konadu from the bench. Weghorst’s number went up. The striker trudged off, visibly seething, and when he reached the touchline he pointedly refused to shake his manager’s outstretched hand. The cameras caught it, the crowd felt it.
The frustration did not end there. After the final whistle, Cristian Willaert attempted to secure a post-match interview, only for the Netherlands international to decline. No words, no explanation – just silence from a player clearly wrestling with more than just a single substitution.
Twente… or a Mourinho reunion in waiting?
While Twente’s interest is real, it is not the only option on the table. According to Parool journalist Jop van Kempen, Weghorst is carefully weighing up his next step, aware that this contract decision could define the final chapter of his top-level career.
Van Kempen reports that several foreign clubs have entered the conversation, with Benfica among those monitoring the situation. The Lisbon giants, now coached by José Mourinho, could offer Weghorst one last crack at a major European stage. Van Kempen wrote that “Wout and José – that strikes me as a brilliant combination,” a line that instantly sparks the imagination: Mourinho’s demand for intensity and tactical discipline married with Weghorst’s relentless work rate and physical presence.
At Benfica, Vangelis Pavlidis currently leads the line and has delivered yet another prolific season after his rise at AZ. That form, however, almost guarantees heavy summer interest and a likely move away. Should Pavlidis depart, a vacancy opens at the heart of Mourinho’s attack.
Mourinho does already have a promising option in Croatian striker Franjo Ivanovic, a young and talented forward whose development the club values highly. But a coach like Mourinho rarely settles for a single profile up front. He likes options, contrasts, specialists for specific battles. A seasoned, aerially dominant, pressing-obsessed striker such as Weghorst fits neatly into that tactical toolbox.
A crossroads for club and country
So Weghorst stands at a crossroads. Stay in the Netherlands and become the spearhead of an ambitious Twente side, closer to home and to the environment that shaped him? Or chase one more adventure abroad, in a pressure-cooker like Benfica under one of the game’s most demanding managers?
Ajax, for their part, seem to have made their decision. With his contract running down and no renewal expected, the club will move on, reshaping their forward line again after another season of churn. The image of Weghorst turning away from García’s handshake may linger as a symbol of a short, uneasy spell that never fully settled.
The next handshake he accepts – whether in Enschede or Lisbon – could define how the final years of his career are remembered.
