Steven Bergwijn: Tottenham forward publicly asks to leave club after lack of first-team football

Steven Bergwijn says Tottenham “hardly looked” at him despite some strong performances for the Dutch national side.

Ajax saw a bid rejected for the forward over the course of the January transfer window, with Antonio Conte keen on keeping him following talks between the two.

The signing of Ivan Perisic, however, has surely pushed the 24-year-old even further down the pecking order.

Afforded only four Premier League starts even before the Croatian’s arrival, Bergwijn’s chances of breaking into the first-team look remote at best.

Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski emerged as one of Europe’s most prolific frontlines in the second-half of the season and Perisic now offers another option.

International football, however, has offered something of a safe haven for Bergwijn.

In 2022 alone, the former PSV forward has scored as many goals for the Netherlands (4) than he did for Tottenham all season, including one in their huge Nations League win over Belgium on Friday.

Speaking to Dutch outlet AD after the victory, Bergwijn said: “I just need to go play. I want to leave Spurs now, that’s for sure.

“Is it important that my new club plays in the Champions League? That’s not my top priority. It would be nice, but 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. But for the last few months, I was hardly looked after there.

“I want to go and play somewhere weekly. It would be nice if there was clarity soon. My situation now has to be different.”

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