Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly hoping to entice the latest PSV wing wonder to North London.
If there’s one manager in the Premier League that a talented youngster should trust to develop their career, it’s Mauricio Pochettino.
After all, 12 of the last 30 England debutants have been coached by the Argentine tactician with the likes of Harry Kane, Danny Rose and Dele Alli evolving from potential stars into genuine top class performers under his tutelage.
Just imagine how good Steven Bergwijn could be, then, if Pochettino gets his hands on the speedy PSV winger. The Mirror reported on Friday that Spurs, West ham and Bournemouth are all tracking the 20-year-old wideman, who has emerged as one of the Eredivisie’s most exciting young talents.
Though the last Dutch-based winger to make a big money move to England didn’t exactly prove his worth.
The next Depay or Spurs’ Robben?
Manchester United looked to have pulled off a real coup when they landed Memphis Depay for £31 million in 2015 (BBC), just weeks after his 22 goals in 30 league starts had inspired a thrilling PSV team to the Eredivisie title.
16 Premier League starts later, however, Depay was flogged to Ligue 1 side Lyon for half the price.
Should Spurs keep this in mind, then, as they continue to watch the player who could be Depay’s successor on the PSV left? Not all cases are the same of course, and you only need to look at the electric performances of Arjen Robben after he left PSV for Chelsea in 2004 to realise that not all young attackers who emerge from Holland are destined to be duds.
Bergwijn, who was nominated for the prestigious Golden Boy award recently, has produced the odd moment of genius for PSV. That mazy, mind-boggling solo goal in the 7-1 thrashing of Utrecht last month seemed to channel a young Leo Messi himself.
Yet, Bergwijn is a raw talent for whom consistency has so far proved elusive. Would Pochettino whip him into shape or is it simply too early to follow in Depay’s footsteps?
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