Steven Bergwijn: “I want to leave Spurs now, that’s for sure”

For months now we have assumed that Steven Bergwijn would be interested in leaving Tottenham Hotspur and returning to the Netherlands in search of regular first team football. Now the player himself has confirmed it.

In quotes published in AD.nl this morning, Bergwijn said that he wants to sort out his future as soon as he’s finished with his duties with the Netherlands national team. Bergwijn scored during Friday’s 4-1 rout of Belgium in the Nations League, continuing his recent string of good performances for his country.

“Have I talked to [his agent] about my future? I’m with Oranje now and then we’ll have a look. It would be nice if there was clarity soon. I just have to go play. But I want to leave Spurs now, that’s for sure. Whether it is important that my new club plays in the Champions League? That’s not even top priority. Though it would be nice. What’s important is that I’m going to play.

“I wasn’t allowed to leave Spurs in the winter and then I didn’t have any problems. The last few months I was hardly looked after there. Now I want to play somewhere weekly.”

Bergwijn has been the subject of intense interest from Ajax in the Eredivisie, and reports said that Ajax even submitted a transfer bid late last week. This continues Ajax’s interest in Stevie from last winter; it looked like Bergwijn might have left in January, but there are suggestions his two goals in extra time heroics vs. Leicester on January 19 might have scuttled any possibility of a winter window deal.

Now however, it looks as though all parties are agreed that a move away from North London would be the best thing. There are, as of now, no indications that Ajax and Tottenham are close to a deal for Bergwijn, though there will no doubt be further negotiations in the coming days and weeks.