Eredivisie legend Aad de Mos believes Newcastle United could target Tottenham winger Steven Bergwijn while luring Gini Wijnaldum back to the Premier League, speaking to Voetbal 4U.
When quizzed about the prospect of Jurrien Timber swapping Ajax for Manchester United this summer, Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal had a few words of warning.
“It is not so wise I think (to move to United). He has to play,” Van Gaal told The Athletic.
The implication being of course that, with a World Cup on the horizon, players struggling for game time with their clubs are not going to be automatic picks for their country either. Wijnaldum found that out the hard way recently, one of the Netherlands’ most trusted lieutenants left at home for June’s Nations League fixtures on the back of an ill-fated debut season at Paris Saint-Germain.
Steven Bergwijn wants to leave Tottenham Hotspur
The same fate is yet to befall Bergwijn. He’s scored five goals in Holland’s last four matches, including a wonderful long-range strike in the recent 4-1 thumping of Belgium’s crumbling ‘Olden Generation’.
But Bergwijn is under no illusions. Having failed to start a single Premier League game since the January arrival of Dejan Kulusevski, the Tottenham benchwarmer is determined to find a club willing to hand him a more central role as he looks to secure a seat on the plane to Qatar.
Ajax remain the most likely destination, submitting a £17 million bid a couple of days ago (Daily Mail). De Mos, however, feels that the Eredivisie champions cannot afford to take things slow with Bergwijn’s scintillating form at international level likely to attract rival suitors.
Back to the Eredivisie?
“Yes, (Ajax should get the deal done quickly) because there may well be hi-jackers,” says De Mos.
“If I were PSV, I would get him straight away. I’d try to trump Ajax. I think Newcastle United, with all the money they have, is also a candidate for him.
“I also think that they are trying to get Georginio Wijnaldum back. They want to join Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool (at the top of the Premier League).
“(Bergwijn) is a substitute at Tottenham. Daniel Levy, the chairman, is a very difficult man to negotiate with. I think Ajax is divided on whether to do (the deal) it or not.”
Wijnaldum, meanwhile, has slipped further and further down the pecking order at PSG and was even left out of Mauricio Pochettino’s 25-man squad for the Champions League knockout stages.
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