Early career Born in
Deventer, Dost's first club was CVV Germanicus in
Coevorden, where he spent his youth career. After a few seasons,
FC Emmen took Dost into their youth academy. He scored a hat-trick in the derby match against
BV Veendam, which Emmen won 3–2. Dost moved to
Heracles Almelo in the summer of 2008. With 14 goals, he was the top scoring native player in the
2009–10 Eredivisie.
SC Heerenveen On 18 May 2010, 20-year-old Dost was signed by
SC Heerenveen for a transfer fee of around €3.2 million, on a five-year deal. In his first season, he was the club's top scorer with 13 league goals. On 10 December 2011, Dost scored all five goals in Heerenveen's 5–0 win away to
SBV Excelsior, taking his total to 14 goals in 16
Eredivisie games. He finished as the topscorer in the Eredivisie with 32 league goals in 34 matches.
VfL Wolfsburg Dost joined German club
VfL Wolfsburg in June 2012. He made his
Bundesliga debut on 25 August 2012, scoring the winner away against
VfB Stuttgart. Dost started the
2014–15 season as Wolfsburg's third choice striker In February 2015 Dost scored four goals, away from home against
Bayer Leverkusen in a 5–4 win, his first hat-trick for the club in a run of scoring nine goals in 10
Bundesliga matches. Five days later he scored his first goals in a UEFA competition, scoring both in a 2–0 win against
Sporting CP in the first knockout round of the
Europa League. Wolfsburg reached the final of the
2015 DFB-Pokal final. Dost headed in the final goal from an
Ivan Perišić cross as Wolfsburg won 3–1 over
Borussia Dortmund at the
Olympiastadion.
Sporting CP In August 2016, Portuguese club Sporting CP signed Dost for a club record €10 million, potentially rising to €12 million, and a buyout clause of €60 million. He made his debut on 10 September at home to
Moreirense F.C., concluding a 3–0 win; thirteen days later he scored for the third successive game, netting twice in a 4–2 victory over
G.D. Estoril Praia again at the
Estádio José Alvalade. Dost scored all of Sporting's goals on 11 March 2017 as they won 4–1 at
C.D. Tondela; two were penalties, of which he later missed another. The league named him Player of the Month for March, with six goals in three games. On 9 April, he scored another hat-trick in a 4–0 home win over
Boavista FC, and three weeks later another treble won the game 3–2 at
S.C. Braga. He ended the season on 21 May with his fourth hat-trick of the campaign in a 4–1 home win over
G.D. Chaves. With 34 league goals in 31 games, he was awarded the
Bola de Prata as top scorer. Dost scored another hat-trick against Chaves on 22 October 2017, in a 5–1 home win. On 1 December, he scored the only goal of a win over
Lisbon neighbours
C.F. Os Belenenses, taking him to 50 goals in 62 games across all competitions for the Lions. He scored another hat-trick on 7 January 2018 in a 5–0 home win over
C.S. Marítimo and added another in a 3–0 win over
C.D. Aves a week later. On 27 January, he scored two penalties – one to equalise in a 1–1 draw and the other in the penalty shootout – as Sporting won the
2018 Taça da Liga Final against
Vitória F.C. at the
Estádio Municipal de Braga. In April 2018, Dost ended a run of 45 first time finishes when he took a touch before scoring in a Sporting win against
Belenenses. Later, on 15 May, he and several of his teammates, including coaches, were injured following an attack by around 50 supporters of Sporting at the club's training ground after the team finished third in the league and missed out on the UEFA Champions League qualification. Despite the attack, he and the rest of the team agreed to play in the
Portuguese Cup final scheduled for the following weekend, losing 2–1 to Aves. Days later, he terminated his contract with Sporting. However, after the dismissal of
Bruno de Carvalho as club president, Dost signed an improved contract. Dost was voted the Player of the Month and Striker of the Month for October/November 2018, with three goals in three games. In the
2019 Taça da Liga Final against
FC Porto on 26 January, he scored a last-minute penalty to seal a 1–1 draw and send the game to extra time; he scored again in the penalty shootout as his club retained the title. On 25 May in the
2019 Taça de Portugal Final against the same opponents, he scored an extra-time goal and missed in the penalty shootout, but his team still won.
Eintracht Frankfurt On 26 August 2019, Dost returned to the Bundesliga, signing a three-year contract at
Eintracht Frankfurt. He arrived to replace departed strikers
Luka Jović and
Sébastien Haller, on a fee reported as €7 million. He scored on his debut six days later, a 2–1 victory over
Fortuna Düsseldorf, having come on at half time for
Dejan Joveljić. Dost arrived at a club which had lost Jović, Haller and
Ante Rebić in high-profile transfers, but combined well with Portuguese attacking duo
André Silva and
Gonçalo Paciência during his one full season.
Club Brugge in 2021 On 24 December 2020, Dost agreed to join
Belgian First Division A club
Club Brugge. He made his debut on 10 January away to
Sint-Truidense V.V., scoring the opening goal of a 2–1 win. He ended his
first half-season as league champion. His team retained the title in
2021–22, after which his contract expired.
Utrecht On 1 July 2022,
FC Utrecht announced the signing of Dost on a one-year contract, as he returned to the Eredivisie after a decade abroad. He made his debut on 6 August, scoring twice to gain an opening 2–2 draw at
RKC Waalwijk.
NEC Nijmegen In August 2023, Dost signed for fellow
Eredivisie club
NEC Nijmegen. On 29 October 2023, in a league match against
AZ Alkmaar, he suddenly collapsed in the 90th minute. After prompt medical treatment on-field led to Dost regaining consciousness, he was transported to hospital. The match was subsequently suspended with the score at 2-1 to NEC Nijmegen. After the match, Dost said he is "doing well." He was not able to play for the remainder of the 2023–24 season, as his NEC contract ran out.
Retirement In October 2023, Dost suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for
NEC Nijmegen. After two years without playing, and following the discovery of further health complications, he announced his retirement from professional football in September 2025. ==International career==