Ajax legend Sjaak Swart claims Steven Bergwijn wanted to rejoin the Eredivisie champions from Tottenham Hotspur but adds he doesn’t believe a homecoming will happen, speaking to Voetbal Primeur.
It’s fair to say Eredivisie exports have a mixed record in English football.
And, a year-and-a-half on from his £27 million move, the jury remains out on Bergwijn.
Is he in the Afonso Alves, Mateja Kezman and Vincent Janssen camp? Or can the Netherlands international silence his doubters, find some form and belatedly emulate the likes of Luis Suarez and Ruud van Nistelrooy on British soil?
Bergwijn, of course, will have to stay at Tottenham to prove he belongs to the latter rather than the former.
Swart, a legendary figure at the Johan Cruyff Arena, believes the 23-year-old would jump at the chance to play for Ajax again after a difficult spell in the Premier League.
Ex-Ajax youngster Bergwijn yet to shine for Tottenham
Erik ten Hag’s side appears to be prioritising another jet-heeled winger instead, however, with the Liverpool-linked Kamaldeen Sulemana expected to join from Danish outfit Nordsjaelland.
“I don’t believe there is any contact with Bergwijn,” Swart, who won seven Eredivisie titles between 1960 and 1973, said of a winger who rose through the ranks at Ajax before joining PSV.
“He was an Ajax player from the youth. He wanted to come back – but that did not happen.
“Ajax is also working on another player from Denmark (Sulemana). (Bergwijn) is a wonderful kid and can play football well. But, just like other players at Tottenham, he has to adapt in the first year.
“That is difficult for everyone.”
The departure of Jose Mourinho and subsequent arrival of a more forward-thinking, front-foot manager – a Graham Potter, for instance – could be exactly what Bergwijn needs. It might give him freedom to showcase the electric and devastating dribbling skills that made him such a star in the first place.
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