Tottenham Hotspur appears to be on the verge of allowing Steven Bergwijn to leave north London and head to his home country to complete his €30 million transfer to Ajax. The 24-year-old never lived up to the fee Spurs paid for in 2020, but are recouping most of their initial investment.
During a segment on talkSPORT, Simon Jordan praised Tottenham for moving on from Bergwijn. Furthermore, the English football pundit states that this transfer begins the process of getting rid of players who aren’t consistent with what manager Antonio Conte demands.
“[Bergwijn] came in with a huge fanfare and a lot of adoration from José Mourinho, whom I made a four-act play about what they were buying and what they got,” Jordan said.
“And I think he epitomizes certain aspects of Tottenham that, that Conte is beginning to get rid of, which is that people that can do it but don’t do it enough and don’t have the substance that Conte will require.”
Jordan adds that Conte is beginning to clear out players the Italian boss feels are not his type of player to help usher in this new era of Tottenham football. The 52-year-old has started adding talents that he views to fit his vision of where he wants to take Spurs next season.
“I think getting him out for the money they’ve actually bought him for is probably good business for Tottenham. And it starts to clear the decks,” Jordan said. “For Conte type of player is he’s not a Conte type; he’s a player that will dip in and out.”
“Clearly, he’s got a lot of ability, but at the level that Conte wants his players to operate, I think he’s just that sort of scintilla short.”
It was in the interest of both parties to move on; it seems as though everyone is happy with this deal. Spurs recoup most of their initial fee, and Bergwijn gets more playing time.