Nuno admits £27m Tottenham ace has struggled, but needs his ‘unique’ talents

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Nuno Espirito Santo admits Steven Bergwijn has struggled after sustaining an injury while on international duty, but needs the Dutchman at Tottenham Hotspur, via football.london.

Bergwijn returned to Nuno’s squad as Spurs won 3-2 at Newcastle United on Sunday after missing their previous six games. He had not featured since sustaining a foot injury against Rennes in the Europa Conference League, and returning from international duty injured.

Nuno had started the Netherlands international in each of Tottenham’s opening three top-flight games under his tenure in August. He also played a quarter of an hour in their Europa Conference League play-off with Pacos de Ferreira, plus half-an-hour against Rennes.

Bergwijn has only offered one assist over his appearances and is yet to score for Tottenham so far this season. But Nuno is glad to see the £73k-a-week forward return as he offers rare qualities in the Spurs squad.

“Stevie started the season very, very well,” Nuno said. “Very, very well. Unfortunately, he got injured in the national team, and since then he’s struggled again. But now he’s getting back, it’s about getting him fitter, stronger, faster because he’s a very talented player.

“Very talented player, unique inside our squad. He has things that really can really help us. He’s fantastic in one-v-one. Offensive, he’s fast, he gives us speed. We need Stevie. I repeat myself: we need Stevie.”

Should Nuno start Bergwijn when Tottenham face Vitesse?

While Nuno did not field Bergwijn at Newcastle, he will start the winger when Tottenham face Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday. The Portuguese confirmed Spurs’ £27m signing from PSV Eindhoven in 2020 will begin their Europa Conference League clash at the GelreDome.

Nuno added: “He’s going to start the game, he’s going to play. He’s feeling good, so let’s play good with Stevie.”

Bergwijn will hope he can begin to put his injury problems behind him when Tottenham travel to his native Netherlands. The 24-year-old only cut a peripheral role last season with 20 starts over 35 appearances across all competitions. While only scoring once and offering seven assists during his first full term in north London.