Wout Weghorst is playing on borrowed time at Ajax. Everyone around the club feels it. The 33-year-old striker is edging towards the exit, with the clock on his contract running down and little appetite in Amsterdam to wind it back up again.
The question is no longer if he leaves, but where he lands.
Ajax chapter winding down
For weeks, the noise has grown around a return to FC Twente. It is more than background chatter now. De Telegraaf’s Ajax watcher Mike Verweij has already framed it as a serious option, telling the Kick-Off podcast that there is “a good chance” Weghorst continues his career in Enschede.
“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.
The scenario is clear: Ajax let his expiring deal run out, Twente pick up an experienced, battle-hardened centre-forward, and Weghorst gets the leading role he has been fighting to reclaim.
It has not been a smooth season. For a long spell he lived in the shadow of Kasper Dolberg, reduced to a reserve role and watching from the bench as Ajax tried to piece together a coherent attack. Only under new manager Óscar García did the Dutchman finally force his way back to the front of the queue.
When the chance came, he grabbed it. Literally against the club that want him most.
Goal, defeat, and a flash of anger
On Saturday, Ajax hosted FC Twente. Weghorst scored. Of course he did. A classic twist: the man linked with Twente finding the net against them in Amsterdam.
It still wasn’t enough.
Ajax lost 1-2 at home, another bruising afternoon in a turbulent season. And Weghorst’s night ended in frustration. Shortly after half-time, García called him ashore and sent on Don-Angelo Konadu. The reaction said everything.
Weghorst trudged towards the touchline, visibly seething, the kind of anger you don’t bother to hide anymore when you suspect your days at a club are numbered. When he reached the sideline, he pointedly refused to shake his manager’s hand. No theatrical outburst, just a clear, cold snub.
After the final whistle, the tension lingered. Cristian Willaert tried to secure a post-match interview, but the Netherlands international declined, offering no public explanation and no softening of the edges.
It felt like a scene from the final act.
Twente… or something bigger?
While Twente remains a very real and very logical destination, the story does not end at the Dutch border. According to Parool journalist Jop van Kempen, Weghorst is weighing up more than a homecoming. There is foreign interest on the table, and one name stands out: Benfica.
“José Mourinho is currently the manager there. Wout and José – that strikes me as a brilliant combination,” Van Kempen wrote.
The idea has a certain electricity to it. Mourinho, the serial winner who thrives on warriors and workhorses. Weghorst, the relentless presser who never stops running, never stops contesting, never stops believing there is one more ball to fight for in the box. On paper, it fits.
Benfica’s striking department could soon be reshaped anyway. Vangelis Pavlidis is the current first-choice No. 9, but after another prolific season, the former AZ forward looks a strong candidate for a summer move. Behind him, Mourinho can call on Croatian talent Franjo Ivanovic, a young striker with time on his side but still learning the trade at the highest level.
A vacancy could open. Benfica will not want to be caught short in the most important position on the pitch. A seasoned international who can lead the line, accept a scrap, and set the tone from the front suddenly looks very appealing.
A crossroads with sharp edges
So Weghorst stands at a crossroads that could define the final years of his career. On one side, FC Twente: familiar ground, a leading role, the chance to become the heartbeat of an ambitious Eredivisie side. On the other, a heavyweight like Benfica under Mourinho, with Champions League nights and a different kind of pressure.
Ajax, for their part, are drifting away from him. The contract is running out, the handshake with the coach has already gone missing, and the post-match silence speaks loudly.
Wherever he goes next, it will not be a quiet move.
