On his day, Steven Bergwijn is a serious player for Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs supporters have known this for some time after scoring on his debut against Manchester City in January of 2020, following a £27 million transfer.
But so much of the following two years has seen the Netherlands international struggle for consistency.
However, Antonio Conte gave him a rare start in Tottenham’s League Cup visit of West Ham United on Wednesday – and he vindicated the Italian manager.
The former PSV Eindhoven winger scored a goal and set up Spurs’ winner through Lucas Moura as Conte’s outfit moved into the semi-final of the competition.
It was a timely reminder of how influential Bergwijn can be.
But some Tottenham supporters believe that he might be on his way in January regardless.
The Dutchman has been heavily linked with a transfer to Ajax in recent weeks and, more recently, Lazio in Serie A.
After the game last night, he gave an oddly-flat interview to the Lilywhites’ resident reporter.
And some fans have detected a strong sense of apathy from the short answers during the exchange, amid speculation of a move away.
Plausible?
Honestly, as silly as it might sound to believe that a player wants to leave on the back of monotonous interview, the theory does have legs.
That’s because it has already been reported that Bergwijn wants out of Tottenham and winning Man of the Match in a League Cup outing might not change his mind.
During the interview, he certainly didn’t communicate like a footballer fully committed to the cause in London and maybe, just maybe, it’s because he knows that a departure is inevitable.
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