Steven Bergwijn became Tottenham's second summer outgoing earlier this month, making a move to Ajax on a five-year deal. This came around a month after the Dutch international had expressed his desire to leave Spurs.
Bergwijn made 83 appearances for the Lilywhites in the couple of years he played in N17, scoring eight goals and registering 10 assists. Last season, the 24-year-old made 25 Premier League appearances, but started in just four of those games.
This became a pattern for the Dutchman under Antonio Conte, being an impact player getting game time off the bench. Bergwijn put in some solid displays, most notably scoring an injury time brace at the King Power Stadium to secure his side three points against Leicester.
READ MORE: Steven Bergwijn makes very honest admission about Tottenham exit after sealing Ajax transfer
However he wasn't able to impress enough to earn himself a regular starting spot. With the World Cup coming up this year, that would've only increased Bergwijn's desire to leave, which he opened up on.
"I have been looking forward to this for a year and a half. I’m glad everything is over, and I’m rid of the uncertainty. Now I have peace in my head," he admitted.
Bergwijn began his youth career with Ajax, and a return to Amsterdam is clearly what the 24-year-old wanted. After completing his move, he opened up on his final season at Spurs and the struggles of lack of game time.
"That was difficult," he said, via Sport Witness. "Especially mentally. You don’t play much. If you get in, you’re important, but then you can sit down again. I thought I showed I could take a chance, but if you see how many minutes I got, I think that was disproportionate."
It was always going to be hard for Bergwijn to show Conte he deserved a regular spot in the side, competing with the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. And that only became harder following the January arrival of Dejan Kulusevski.
The attacker also often found himself below Lucas Moura in the pecking order, a player who struggled to find consistency and arguably impressed less when given chances last season. The 24-year-old reiterated his point when speaking to Dutch magazine, VI.
"If I came on as a substitute, I could be important, but then I had to sit on the bench again the next game. In the games and minutes I got, I think I pushed myself to get a chance. But it never came, and that made it difficult," he explained.
Every player wants to be playing week in and week out but it must be even more difficult when you believe you are playing well and are still not given the chances. If Bergwijn had stayed in the capital next season, he would've had even more competition with the arrival of Richarlison, but may have also got more game time because of the busy fixture schedule and the Premier League moving to incorporate five substitutions per game.
However, for the sake of his own career, it does seem like the move away was best and what Bergwijn wanted. It's a shame for Spurs as they had a quality player, but it just didn't work out in N17.
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