"I would have blocked this" - Dutch striker speaks out on Burnley & Ajax deal for Wout Weghorst | OneFootball

Wout Weghorst's permanent exit from Turf Moor was sanctioned last month

Wout Weghorst departed Burnley late on in the summer transfer window after two-and-a-half years with the Clarets, and he's managed to bag himself a big move back to his home nation with Ajax.

That has not gone down well with some though, including former Eredivisie striker Ralf Seuntjens, who has been brutally honest in suggesting that the Netherlands international is not good enough to play a part for Francesco Farioli.

Unsurprisingly, Burnley saw a number of big names leave Turf Moor after their relegation from the Premier League, and the big Dutch striker was one of those, despite failing to live up to his big-money move from Wolfsburg in January 2022.

However, after loan spells with Besiktas, Manchester United and TSG Hoffenheim in the midst of two relegation seasons and a Championship-winning campaign for the Clarets after a £12m switch from the Bundesliga, the international striker returned to his home country in a reported £2m move to the Johan Cruyff Arena.

But, following his return to the Eredivisie after spells with Heracles Almelo and AZ Alkmaar earlier in his career, Weghorst and his latest employers haven't exactly been praised for completing the transfer.

Ralf Seuntjens slams Ajax after Wout Weghorst's Burnley move

That's because the aforementioned Seuntjens, who currently features for Eerste Divisie outfit De Graafschap at the age of 35, has been speaking about Weghorst's return to the Netherlands in an interview with Dutch media outlet, FC Afkicken - relayed by SoccerNews.

Seuntjens stated that he doesn't understand the decision for the side competing in this season's UEFA Europa League to bring in the 32-year-old as another option in Francesco Farioli's striking department, already having the services of Julian Rijkhoff, Brian Bobbey and former Middlesbrough hotshot, Chuba Akpom to call upon.

"It's not good," Seuntjens said.

"I'll be completely honest: if you arrive at Ajax with Wout Weghorst, you've gone far. This is really not on, man. This policy makes no sense at all. You have Brobbey and Akpom. Brobbey should simply be the first striker at Ajax,"

"If you get a player like that (who plays) for half an hour, they could have bought Sam Lammers. He's cheaper and I think he's more of an Ajax striker than Weghorst. In everything, he's more of an Ajax striker than Weghorst.

“Nothing against Weghorst, mind you, but this is not possible. As Ajax, this is really not possible. If I were on the board of directors, I would have blocked this.”

After failing to make any kind of impression after his eight-figure move two years ago, although the club have made a significant loss on the 6"6 striker, the likes of Alan Pace will be glad to have shifted Weghorst off the Turf Moor wage bill, with estimated figures claiming that he was on a weekly wage of €41,096 in East Lancashire - a figure which equates to £34,650 per week, which was extremely unjustified.

Weghorst made just 22 appearances in Claret and Blue after his big-money signing, but only netted two goals and registered three assists, with his final two outings coming in early-season routs against Luton Town and Cardiff City at the start of this Championship campaign.

The man who made a brief return to the club after netting two goals in six games at UEFA Euro 2024 as Ronald Koeman's side were eventually defeated by England in the semi-finals was praised by Scott Parker for his professionalism in pre-season, but it always seemed inevitable that the club would cash in, instead of risking a complete £12m loss by the time his contract was due to expire next summer.

"All I can tell you is that since I’ve walked into this place, Wout has been nothing but the ultra professional. He’s been an absolute pleasure to be around," Parker told the Burnley Express.

Weghorst was named in Koeman's Netherlands squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Germany, before being in line to make his Ajax bow against FC Utrecht on September 15th.

Burnley's strikers continued life without Weghorst well too, with Lyle Foster netting against bitter rivals Blackburn Rovers last weekend, and there is belief that the South African will kick on this season after summer interest from Ipswich Town.