The name Kluivert carries a lot of weight in Dutch soccer. Patrick Kluivert is one of the top scorers in the national team's history, and he spearheaded the Oranje attack at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, where the Netherlands reached the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. This is all to say that when Kluivert's son Justin came up through the famed Ajax youth system last decade, people paid attention.
The younger Kluivert might have had the name and the developmental pedigree, debuting at the age of 17 for Ajax's senior side, but he didn't quite have "it" in the same way his father did. The early promise of his Ajax years earned him a €19 million move to Roma in 2018, but his progression soon stalled. A couple unexceptional Serie A seasons were followed by loans to Leipzig, Nice, and Valencia, but the former wunderkind's star looked to have already faded. When he moved to Bournemouth in the summer of 2023, there was surprisingly little noise made about a player once surrounded by so much buzz.
Even a decent debut campaign in the Premier league last season didn't necessarily mark Kluivert as a potential reclamation project-turned-good; seven goals and one assist is a fine enough return for a midtable attacker, but it's not the kind of performance that would cause people to go dusting off those old comparisons to his dad. This season, though, working in the quiet comfort of Bournemouth, Kluivert has both upped his production on the scoresheets and also improved his game playing as a central attacker with license to roam in manager Andoni Iraola's structured chaos of a system.
Heading into Saturday's match at Newcastle, the now-25-year-old had already matched his tally of seven goals from last season, and though six of those goals were from the penalty spot—including, quite astonishingly, the first ever all-penalties hat trick in Premier League history back in November against Wolverhampton—Kluivert is no penalty merchant. As proof, the forward notched his second hat trick of the season on Saturday, which was a masterclass in finishing and, perhaps more encouragingly for his season and Bournemouth's style of play, movement on and off the ball.
Kluivert's "position" may be that of a no. 10 in the center of the park, but what characterizes his role is the freedom he has to roam out wide, whether moving towards the ball as a passing option or moving into free space on the backside of any particular attacking motion. Take his first goal against Newcastle: When the move for the eventual goal begins, Kluivert is nearly touching the sideline while the ball is passed around on that side, but as soon as Ryan Christie hits a through ball to Antoine Semenyo, the Dutchman floats into the open space on the left side of the box, giving Semenyo an easy target for a cutback, with which Kluivert makes no mistake:
Though Newcastle would get an equalizer in the 25th minute, the visitors' commitment to playing hard without the ball paid dividends right before half. It was Kluivert again who benefited from a smart run and then a very difficult finish. Newcastle goalscorer Bruno Guimarães was a bit too lackadaisical with the ball in the 44th minute, and a well-timed poke from Christie splurted the ball onto Dango Ouattara's foot, who then spotted Kluivert in a tiny crevice of space. Ouattara's pass was a bit heavy, but Kluivert had just enough room to send another shot across the goal to restore the Bournemouth lead:
The third goal in Kluivert's hat trick might not have much to do with his movement, but it was impressive nonetheless, and spoke both to Bournemouth's solidity and the Dutchman's individual skill. With the score still hanging in the balance in the 92nd minute, a Bournemouth counter-press in Newcastle's half forced a bad pass from Anthony Gordon. Tyler Adams managed to deflect Gordon's pass into the direction of Kluivert about 25 yards from goal, and it only took one touch for Kluivert to steady himself before ripping off a rocket of a shot into the net.
Bournemouth would go on to score another insurance goal, but Kluivert's heroics had already carried the day. With the win, the Cherries are now a very solid seventh on the table, and haven't lost a match in any competition since way back on Nov. 23. This stretch of unblemished play comes with the 4-1 win against Newcastle, a 3-0 win against Manchester United, and a 1-0 win over Tottenham. The side also walloped West Bromwich Albion 5-1 in the FA Cup to advance into the fourth round. Those are big wins, even though there's not a lot of goals in Iraola's system, but the team sports a healthy plus-10 goal difference in the league thanks in part to Kluivert's contributions both from the spot and in open play.
Of course, Kluivert's not doing it alone. Semeyo has probably been the team's true star wreaking havoc down the wing, Evanilson has five goals of his own up top, and Ouattara has four assists while playing all over the front line. Nevertheless, with his hat trick against Newcastle, Kluivert has hit double digit goals for only the second time in his career, and, in a fun statistical quirk, he now has more goals than his father at St. James Park, despite Patrick playing for Newcastle late in his career. Not too shabby for a player who once teetered on bustdom; maybe all he needed was time, the right coach, the right team, and the right opportunity to show what he can do.
