Steven Bergwijn made his home Eredivisie debut on Sunday for Ajax after leaving Tottenham and got off to a flyer, scoring a hat-trick for Ajax – earning praise from Tottenham players Sergio Reguilon, Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga.
It was the 24-year-old’s third outing for Ajax since joining the club from Spurs for a fee of £26.5million. He scored on debut against PSV, a 5-3 loss, in the Dutch equivalent of the Community Shield. His league debut came last weekend.
A 3-2 away win over Fortuna Sittard, but it was on Sunday where he made his home league debut. Ajax cruised to a 6-1 win over Groningen, and it was Bergwijn that stole the plaudits with a wonderful hat-trick, during his 70-minute outing.
Bergwijn now has four goals in three games for Ajax since leaving Spurs. He took to Instagram to underline his delight at netting a hat-trick, with the Dutchman already boasting half of his Tottenham tally of 8 in just three games for Ajax.
Tottenham players praise hat-trick Bergwijn: Reguilon, Dier and Tanganga
What a start Bergwijn has made at Ajax, as he looks to prove Tottenham wrong. But ultimately, there is an enormous step down from Premier League football to domestic football in the Eredivisie. Ask Manchester United’s Erik Ten Hag.
It will be in Europe, where he makes his mark. That is where Bergwijn can really show Spurs they were wrong to cash in on him, and not give him enough game time. If he shines in the Champions League, he will prove that point to Spurs.
But for now, Bergwijn will be delighted to get off the mark for Ajax in the league – and in such fashion. A handful of Tottenham players have responded to his Instagram post, including Japhet Tanganga, Eric Dier and Sergio Reguilon.
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