Alfred Schreuder has lavished Steven Bergwijn with praise and hailed the Dutchman for his ‘ambition’ after Ajax signed the forward from Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year contract.
De Godenzonen have just paid Spurs £26m for the 24-year-old to move from north London to the Johan Cruyff Arena. The deal sees Bergwijn return to the Netherlands at a marginal loss for Tottenham, who paid PSV Eindhoven £27m under Jose Mourinho in January 2020.
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Bergwijn rarely held a prominent presence at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the 22-cap international’s 83 appearances across all competitions. He registered his most Premier League games in a single season last term with 25, yet only started in four for 546 minutes.
Even in the winger’s initial half-season in the English capital Bergwijn amassed 703 minutes in 14 appearances. He then recorded his most minutes in 2020/21 with 1,211 in 21 games. Bergwijn also laid on his most assists in ‘20/21 (4), plus most goals in ‘19/20 and ‘21/22 (3).
Ajax sign Bergwijn from Tottenham as Dutchman returns to former youth side
Bergwijn will hope to recapture the form that caught Tottenham’s eye with PSV after Ajax signed their former youth prospect. The Amsterdam native played for De Godenzonen for six years in his formative phase before moving to Eindhoven and becoming a senior player.
At the Johan Cruyff Arena, Bergwijn will also find a manager in Schreuder in awe of his skill and mentality. The Ajax boss has lavished praise on the attacker after finalising his signing from Tottenham, and for his dedication shown to join the reigning Eredivisie champions.
“It is indicative of Steven’s ambition that he chose to make the step to Ajax,” Schreuder said, via quotes by the Evening Standard. “He is a player with many qualities.
“He has enormous drive and is also very goal-oriented. Of course, I am happy that we were able to sign him, he adds new quality to our team.”
Bergwijn left PSV Eindhoven in the January 2020 market having scored six goals and laid on 13 assists that season. The forward’s haul took him to 31 goals and 41 assists through 149 first-team appearances across all competitions for the Philips Stadion natives from 2014.
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