Ajax have made a fresh effort to sign Steven Bergwijn this summer after failing to take him away from Tottenham Hotspur in January.
According to De Telegraaf, the Eredivisie winners pulled the plug in January because the overall cost of the deal was ‘too much’ for them.
Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy and Ajax’s then director, Marc Overmars, were in direct contacts. A deal didn’t take shape, also because Antonio Conte wanted to keep the 24-year-old at the club.
However, the former Chelsea manager didn’t end up relying on the former PSV Eindhoven man and he ended up collecting less than 150 minutes in the league during the second half of last season.
Alfred Schreuder has been appointed as Erik ten Hag’s successor in Amsterdam. The new coach appreciates the Tottenham Hotspur man’s profile and the club’s new leaders ‘would like nothing more than to deliver Schreuder his first desired purchase’.
Ajax are back again for the Netherlands international as De Telegraaf state they have made an ‘official offer’ for him and further add ‘the first proposal went into the trash’. The details of the offer have not been revealed by the newspaper.
Tottenham initially demanded €30m for Bergwijn in January and then reduced it to €25m. The report adds Spurs ‘can no longer’ demand a high fee for the player because he has not featured regularly for them. There’s belief Ajax can sign the Dutchman for €20m.
Bergwijn is now with the national team preparing for the upcoming fixtures. De Telegraaf warns his performances for the Netherlands could see Ajax risk losing him.
This, for now, seems more like a possibility than an absolute certainty. Either way, Ajax top leaders must act fast if they wish to take Bergwijn away from Tottenham this summer.
