‘Huge poker game’ – Levy ‘not giving an inch’ in talks for Tottenham exit, Spurs looking for €25m

There’s only three days remaining in the transfer window, and it feels like Tottenham Hotspur still have much of their business left to do.

Whilst the story may well have a happy ending for Spurs fans (we’re trying to look on the bright-side here), it isn’t the way things were meant to go after the club brought in Fabio Paratici.

It’s also not what Antonio Conte will have wanted.

One case still in the balance is that of Steven Bergwijn, with it now being said that Ajax haven’t completely given up on signing the attacker.

Mike Verweij, who is the well-connected Ajax specialist for De Telegraaf, has been speaking about the situation, and Dutch website SoccerNews say he’s called it a ‘huge poker game’ between the two clubs.

Verweij is quoted as saying: “You may have the two best negotiators in Europe sitting opposite each other: Daniel Levy and Marc Overmars. They are not giving an inch for the time being. It is true that Spurs initially wanted €30m for Bergwijn, which he also cost in 2020 when they picked him up from PSV, but that has now dropped to €25m.

“That is an enormous amount of money for Ajax and also because Bergwijn will not immediately have a base place, so people are thinking about that in Amsterdam.”

Ajax are said to want to pay around €22m for the January transfer, yet it’s not thought that will get them the move.

Much will depend on Tottenham’s progress for incoming transfers, and what Levy and Paratici can do in that regard, because Bergwijn is certainly a useful member of Conte’s squad.