"Lucky" - Wout Weghorst drops surprising Burnley claim | OneFootball

The striker has addressed his time at Burnley

Wout Weghorst has revealed that he felt "lucky" to represent Burnley ahead of a likely summer departure and that labelled his move to the Premier League with the Clarets as a "dream come true".

The 39-cap Dutch international appears poised to finally seal a permanent exit from the Clarets this summer following their return to the Championship, having spent three spells on loan away from the club with Besiktas, Manchester United and Hoffenheim. Weghorst, who joined from Wolfsburg in January 2022, hasn't made an appearance for Burnley in more than two years and scored just twice during a disappointing tenure in Lancashire.

Weghorst did find form while on loan with both Besiktas and then Hoffenheim back in the Bundesliga last term but could be set to join Trabzonspor, who have agreed a deal to return the striker to Türkiye, according to a report from Yagiz Sabuncuoglu on X. The 31-year-old has also addressed a return to The Netherlands as an "option".

Meanwhile, Burnley will have designs of returning to the Premier League at the very first time of asking in the 2024/25 campaign and have entrusted two-time promotion-winning head coach Scott Parker to oversee that ambition, with the ex-Fulham and Bournemouth boss having already added a new striker to his ranks in the form of Andreas Hountondji from Ligue 2 side Rodez.

Wout Weghorst on his time with Burnley

In a recent interview with German outlet Kicker, Weghorst lifted the lid on his future and provided a surprising revelation on his time with Burnley – speaking in glowing terms about his time at Turf Moor.

"I'm very happy and have been lucky with my clubs over the past few years, even if they were different ones," he explained.

"Moving to Burnley in the Premier League was a dream come true, and my time in Istanbul was amazing. It was just the perfect fit for me as a footballer in terms of fans, emotions and passion. It was an incredible experience."

Burnley supporters will not share Wout Weghorst sentiment

While Weghorst evidently looks back on his time at Burnley with fond memories and as a beneficial learning experience, Clarets supporters are unlikely to share such a positive sentiment.

That's because Weghorst has flattered to deceive at Burnley, despite arriving with so much promise after establishing himself among the leading frontmen in the Bundesliga prior to his Premier League switch.

He felt primed to score the goals to keep Burnley in the top flight upon arriving but struggled to provide the goods.

A drop down to the Championship might've offered him a chance to prove his worth but instead, he headed out on loan to Besiktas and Manchester United.

Even after Burnley returned to the Premier League, Weghorst did not return to the offing and instead spent last term with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.

Burnley reportedly shelled out a fee in the region of £12m for Weghorst, which actually seemed to be something of a snip at the time given his goalscoring form in Germany and status as a fully-fledged international forward. It'll be looked at with serious regret now though and the Clarets would be extremely fortunate to recoup anything close to what they paid for him.

The towering Dutchman is clearly a capable forward but he just hasn't been able to adapt to the English game and would clearly be better served by finally completing a long-awaited exit next month, while Burnley can also reap the rewards and strengthen their own promotion bid by having a fresh cash windfall through the likely sale.