Can Justin Kluivert Live Up To His Father’s Legacy?

Patrick Kluivert was one of the greatest strikers of his generation, part of the Ajax golden era and a Barcelona team that won La Liga in 1999. His goal scoring was incredible, managing 206 goals in his club career, but he could have won more. In his six years at Barcelona, where he scored 127 goals, he won just one trophy, as Real Madrid dominated Spanish football. Premier League fans will remember his one season at Newcastle, where he scored just six goals in the league.

Now, his son Justin Kluivert plays in the top flight of English football. He may not have won anything yet, but his time at Bournemouth has definitely shown that he has the talents of his father, and could become a top class player in the next few years.

Kluivert At Ajax

Like his father, Justin Kluivert started his career at Ajax. He came through the youth ranks at the Dutch side having joined the club when he was eight years old. He signed his first professional contract in 2016, and made his debut for the Jong Ajax side in September, in a 1-0 loss against MVV.

Justin Kluivert, Patrick's 17 year-old son, has just made his official debut for Ajax in a league game against PEC Zwolle pic.twitter.com/7fM35OR9D5

— Elko Born (@Elko_B) January 15, 2017

He only played eight times for the Jong Ajax team before making his debut for the first team. He replaced an injured Amin Younes in the 39th minute of a league victory over PEC Zwolle. It was around this time, the end of the 2016/17 league season, that Kluivert started getting more minutes under his belt, and even managed his first goal for the club.

The 2017/18 season was a breakout campaign for Kluivert, who managed 10 league goals for Ajax. However he still wasn’t a regular starter, or as regular as he would have liked, and on top of that, Ajax had failed to win the league for a long time. That summer, Kluivert decided that it was time to move on.

Roma And Failed Loans

Kluivert made his move to Roma thanks to a conversation between his father and club legend Francesco Totti. The Italian side paid roughly £19m for the winger, who became just the fifth Dutch player to play for them. Like at Ajax, Kluivert struggled to get into the starting XI, having to settle for substitute appearances. He scored nine times over the next two seasons before Roma decided that he needed more game time and sent him on loan.

His first loan spell was at Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. Despite his four prominent seasons in European football at this stage, Kluivert was still just 21 years old and had the weight of the name on his shoulders. He spent one year in Germany where he managed just four goals and a single assist. His stats aren’t very good in the Bundesliga, however Leipzig fans still seem fond of him.

Our new #️⃣2️⃣1️⃣ - welcome to Leipzig, Justin #Kluivert! 👋

🔴⚪ #DieRotenBullen #JustInTime pic.twitter.com/b52rlhHsS2

— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) October 5, 2020

In 2021, he joined Nice on a season long loan with an option to buy. Again, Kluivert disappointed in France, even receiving his only straight red card of his career so far. The 2022/23 season saw Justin move to one of his father’s former clubs: Valencia in La Liga. He did score eight goals at the club, but they weren’t willing to buy him on a permanent basis, so he returned to Roma in the summer of 2023, right at the bottom of the pecking order.

Bournemouth Change His Trajectory

Andoni Iraola’s first signing as Bournemouth coach was a permanent deal for Kluivert for around £9m. He made his debut for the club as a substitute in their first league game of the season, a 1-1 draw with West Ham. He started his Cherries career as a left sided winger, where he had spent most of his career up until that point. He didn’t really impress there, and as the 2023/24 season progressed, Iraola moved him into a more central role as a number 10.

Justin Kluivert delivers a second hat-trick of the season to give @afcbournemouth a famous win 🎩#NEWBOU pic.twitter.com/o3dPqewkKJ

— Premier League (@premierleague) January 18, 2025

This season has been Kluivert’s best so far in his career. With Dominic Solanke being sold to Tottenham in the summer, there was a lot of talk around who could score the goals for the Cherries. Kluivert wasn’t really considered as he only managed seven league goals in the last campaign, but this year he has scored 11, including two hat tricks. He is Bournemouth’s penalty taker and is yet to miss one and he has also provided a number of assists, proving how integral he is to their attack.

What Next

After years of hopping from one club to the next, Kluivert is probably looking for a club to call home. Bournemouth are a side on the rise, just like he is, and so he will probably want to stick around a while longer, especially if they manage to get European football this season.

It will always be difficult for the Dutchman to live up to his name, after all Patrick Kluivert is one of the Netherlands’ most talented strikers, however he is certainly carving out his own path for himself on the South Coast.