Tottenham Hotspur confirm Steven Bergwijn transfer to Ajax

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that Steven Bergwijn has left the club to join Ajax on a permanent deal.

The Netherlands international arrived in North London from PSV Eindhoven under Jose Mourinho in January 2020, but has struggled to nail down a regular starting role since.

Bergwijn was only a bit-part player under Antonio Conte, initially finding himself behind Lucas Moura in the pecking order before being further pushed down by Dejan Kulusevski.

The arrival of Richarlison was expected to signal the end of Bergwijn's time with Tottenham, with the 24-year-old pining for regular game time in his bid to make the Netherlands squad for the 2022 World Cup.

Now, Tottenham have confirmed that a deal has been agreed with Ajax for the transfer of Bergwijn, who returns to his homeland after a two-and-a-half year spell in North London.

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Ajax have revealed that they will pay Tottenham a fixed amount of €31.25m (£26.4m) for Bergwijn, who has signed a five-year deal with the Eredivisie champions until 2027.

Bergwijn was previously on the books at Ajax as a youth player between 2005 and 2011 before leaving for PSV Eindhoven, where he spent a further eight-and-a-half years ahead of his Tottenham move.

The Dutch attacker posted a farewell message to Tottenham on Instagram on Friday morning, which read: "Dear Spurs fans, thank you for all the great moments and memories. It was an honor to have been part of this beautiful club. All the best. COYS🤍."

Bergwijn leaves Tottenham after racking up eight goals and 10 assists in 83 games for the club in all competitions since scoring on his debut against Manchester City two-and-a-half years ago.

Four of those goals and two of those assists came in 32 appearances during the 2021-22 season, including a dramatic late brace to seal a 3-2 comeback win over Leicester City in the top flight back in January.

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A post shared by Steven Bergwijn (@stevenbergwijn)

However, Bergwijn would only start four Premier League matches under Conte and Nuno Espirito Santo in the 2021-22 season and endured 15 consecutive appearances off the bench since his most recent start in the competition against Chelsea in January.

The former PSV man returns to the Eredivisie having previously won three Dutch top-flight titles in 2015, 2016 and 2018, as well as registering 29 goals and 35 assists in 112 league appearances.

Bergwijn was briefly linked with a move to Manchester United to work under compatriot Erik ten Hag, but Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal previously urged the attacker to return to Amsterdam.

"If it's up to me, Steven Bergwijn may join Ajax as soon as possible," Van Gaal told reporters at a press conference during the most recent international break.

Bergwijn has become just the second player under contract to leave Tottenham on a permanent transfer this summer after Celtic signed centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers for an £8m fee.