Ajax abandoned a deadline day move for Tottenham forward Steven Bergwijn when they realised a deal would be far more than they were willing to pay.
That’s according to De Telegraaf, who explain that a move was left for the summer despite the forward being ‘at the top of Erik Ten Haag’s wishlist’.
They explain that Bergwijn’s name was written down in capitals on the club’s list of targets and was considered the ‘dream candidate’ to bolster the squad last month.
However, those in charge at the Dutch club considered a transfer ‘irresponsible’ because of the finances involved.
Tottenham chair Daniel Levy reportedly lived up to his reputation as a tough negotiator, insisting during talks with Marc Overmars that Bergwijn’s asking price was €30m.
He then hinted that a deal could be done for €25m, but that was still too much for Ajax, who made it clear their desired price was €22m.
Efforts were made to bridge that gap, but once Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil were allowed to leave, Tottenham put the price back to €30m, insisting that Antonio Conte didn’t want to lose Bergwijn.
At this point, it became clear to Ajax that a total deal, once they had factored in wages, would ‘be far too expensive’ for them.
Bergwijn would be arriving as the club record purchase on a five and a half year deal. He currently earns €6m a year at Spurs, and even if he’d dropped to €4.5m, the total salary would have still been €27.5m.
Add that to the €30m to sign him in the first place, and it resulted in a ‘staggering’ amount that Overmars and Ajax weren’t interested in paying.
Thus, he decided to ‘pull the plug’ in talks with Tottenham for the time being, and a fourth attempt to sign him in the summer could be made, as everyone at the Dutch club is ‘charmed by him’.
