The Wandering Wonderkid Finds His Home
Is Justin Kluivert finally becoming the player everyone expected when he burst onto the scene at Ajax? As the Dutchman continues his remarkable season with Bournemouth—now with 12 Premier League goals to his name—it appears the son of Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert has finally found the stage where his talents can truly flourish after a continental journey that would make Marco Polo envious.
From Amsterdam to Rome, Leipzig to Nice, Valencia to Bournemouth—Kluivert’s career reads like a European travel guide. But unlike the typical tourist, this journey wasn’t about sightseeing. It was about survival, growth and ultimately, vindication.
Mapping a Remarkable Journey
| Stage | Club | Period | Apps | Gls | Notable Achievement |
| Youth Formation | Ajax Youth | 2007-2016 | – | – | Developed in world-renowned academy |
| Professional Debut | Jong Ajax | 2016-2017 | 8 | 2 | First steps into senior football |
| Breakthrough | Ajax | 2016-2018 | 44 | 12 | Became one of Europe’s most coveted youngsters |
| Italian Test | AS Roma | 2018-2023 | 53 | 5 | Transfer fee of €18.75 million |
| German Loan | RB Leipzig | 2020-2021 | 19 | 3 | Scored against Bayern Munich and Man United |
| French Chapter | Nice | 2021-2022 | 27 | 4 | First taste of regular football after Roma |
| Spanish Stint | Valencia | 2022-2023 | 26 | 6 | Career rehabilitation continues |
| English Renaissance | Bournemouth | 2023- | 58 | 19 | Premier League Player of the Month, Jan 2025 |
The Amsterdam Beginning
Growing up in the shadow of his father Patrick, who scored 40 goals in 79 appearances for the Netherlands, could have crushed many young talents. But for Justin Kluivert, football was simply destiny. Joining Ajax’s famed academy in 2007 at just eight years old, he was following in his father’s footsteps while beginning to carve his own path.
Justin Kluivert has got all the talent. All of it. Hat-trick today for Ajax. Only turned 18 in May pic.twitter.com/bWAxIsvYta
— Ryan Baldi (@RyanBaldi_) November 26, 2017
His breakthrough came in the 2016-17 season, making his Eredivisie debut against PEC Zwolle. Perhaps most fittingly, Kluivert scored his first professional goal exactly 10 years and one day after his father’s last career goal – genetic timing that couldn’t be scripted.
But it was his hat-trick against Roda JC in November 2017 that truly announced his arrival. By the end of that season, Europe’s elite were circling.
The Roman Disappointment
When Roma legend Francesco Totti personally called Patrick Kluivert to convince his son to join the Italian club, it seemed the perfect next step for the teenage sensation. The €18.75 million move in 2018 was supposed to be the launchpad for superstardom.
Instead, it became a learning experience in patience and resilience.
Mourinho to Justin Kluivert in 2017 👇
Since Mourinho joined Roma he’s loaned him out twice and now sold him
pic.twitter.com/J4Dm7QnRYa— ✈️ (@evertonfinest) July 20, 2023
“My biggest dream was always to play for Ajax—growing up in Holland and Amsterdam, of course it was,” Kluivert reflected in a recent interview in the Daily Mail. “But the low point of my career was going from Ajax as one of the world’s top talents. I went to Rome and it was a whole new world. At Ajax, everything was perfect. I did incredible, scoring goals. Then I made the step into the big world, and it was totally different.”
In Italy, Kluivert chose the number 34 shirt—a tribute to his close friend Abdelhak “Appie” Nouri, who suffered a cardiac arrest during an Ajax pre-season friendly in 2017, leading to permanent brain damage. It was a reminder of perspective during his difficult adaptation.
“It was the worst thing that has happened to me in my whole life,” Kluivert said about Nouri’s collapse. “He was such a close friend. An hour before the game we were talking about the future. An hour later, it was no longer possible for him to achieve his dreams.”
The European Tour: Finding His Footing
When his Roma dream stalled, Kluivert embarked on a European loan tour that would ultimately build the foundation for his current success. Leipzig in Germany. Nice in France. Valencia in Spain. Each stop adding new dimensions to his game, teaching lessons that couldn’t be learned in one place.
This continental education made Kluivert just the third player in history to score in all of Europe’s top five leagues—joining the rarified company of Florin Răducioiu and Stevan Jovetić. A pub quiz answer in the making, but far from the ceiling of his ambition.
The Bournemouth Renaissance
When Kluivert arrived at Bournemouth in June 2023 for approximately €11 million, few expected it would be the move to finally unlock his potential. But sometimes talent simply needs the right environment to flourish—like a tropical plant finally finding its ideal climate on England’s south coast.
🚨🏴 GOAL | Brighton 1-1 Bournemouth | Justin Kluivert
WHAT A FANTASTIC GOAL FROM JUSTIN KLUIVERT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!pic.twitter.com/6S8ZRDbnoV
— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) February 25, 2025
Under Andoni Iraola’s guidance, Kluivert has transformed from a promising talent to a Premier League game-changer. His recent form has been nothing short of sensational: five goals and two assists in January alone, including a hat-trick against Newcastle at St James’ Park—a stadium where his father once plied his trade.
“The manager is a foreigner, he came here and it is not easy for coaches to come to England and think they can change the game. But he is doing that,” Kluivert said of Iraola. “He has improved my game significantly… he played me in a different role so I thank Andoni for that… he had a good vision!”
Breaking Records, Making History
This season has seen Kluivert break new ground. No Bournemouth player had ever scored 10 or more away goals in a Premier League season. Only Mohamed Salah has more away goals this campaign.
In November, Kluivert became the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick of penalties in a single game, in a 4-2 win over Wolves—the first top-flight player to achieve this feat since Manchester City’s Ken Barnes in 1957.
Justin Kluivert is the first ever Bournemouth player to score 10+ away goals in a single Premier League campaign.
They’ve all come in his last eight appearances on the road. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/TdYzoWHtzs
— Squawka (@Squawka) February 25, 2025
His latest goal against Brighton, a beautiful curling effort past fellow Dutchman Bart Verbruggen, was his 12th of the season, placing him joint-eighth on the Premier League scoring charts. For context, he’s level with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and ahead of numerous forwards from traditional “big six” clubs.
“It was wonderful to score in this way, but three points would have been even better,” Kluivert reflected after the Brighton match. “If you want to compete with the big boys, you have to win every game.”
The Next Chapter: Where Is His Ceiling?
As Kluivert continues to dazzle the Premier League, a more intriguing question emerges: where does this story go next? At just 25, is the Bournemouth star ready for another leap—this time to an established European giant?
His current trajectory suggests the potential for an even higher ceiling. The combination of technical ability, football intelligence, and newfound finishing prowess makes him an attractive proposition for clubs in need of attacking firepower. Manchester City, perennially in the market for versatile attackers who can operate in Pep Guardiola’s fluid system, could view Kluivert as the perfect addition.
Justin Kluivert’s worldie brings it level at Amex Stadium! 🌎#BHABOU pic.twitter.com/ntx1nlQ2nK
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 25, 2025
Yet perhaps the most transformative aspect of Kluivert’s Bournemouth renaissance is the mental growth. No longer is he simply “Patrick’s son” or a talent unfulfilled. He’s creating his own legacy—one that interestingly now includes imminent fatherhood. His first child, a daughter, is expected imminently, adding another dimension to his motivation.
“My game has been improving since my wife has been expecting a baby, so maybe that is the start of something beautiful,” Kluivert revealed. “Maybe my game will get even better when she is here, it will be special to be a father and that is extra motivation.”
Justin Kluivert finally hitting that level he promised at Ajax
Approaches all his 1v1s at such a perfect angle to drop the shoulder either way
Great ball striker too
If he had slightly better athleticism he’d be even better though pic.twitter.com/ei1uxqQOVe
— KP (@Kish_P14) February 25, 2025
After five countries, six clubs, and countless doubters along the way, Justin Kluivert’s European odyssey has reached its most compelling chapter yet. But the ultimate question remains: is this current purple patch merely the latest stop on his footballing journey, or has he finally found his permanent home at Bournemouth?
For a player who has already answered two of football’s most obscure pub quiz questions, perhaps the most important question is still to come: How high can Justin Kluivert truly climb?
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