Former Leeds United and Coventry City forward Noel Whelan has backed Steven Bergwijn to win his place back in Tottenham Hotspur’s first-choice starting eleven.
Bergwijn made a promising start to his Tottenham career after arriving from PSV Eindhoven back in January of this year.
However, the winger has fallen down the pecking order this season and has failed to make the match day squad for any of Tottenham’s last three Premier League clashes against Burnley, Brighton and West Brom.
The winger did get minutes under his belt in Tottenham’s last two Europa League outings against Royal Antwerp and Ludogorets, and Whelan believe the Holland international will have to prove his worth to Jose Mourinho in Europe is he if is to displace the likes of Gareth Bale.
Bergwijn is currently at Hotspur Way, recovering from a groin problem that has kept him out of Netherlands’ international fixtures against Spain, Bosnia and Poland (De Telegraaf via Sport Witness).
Speaking about the wide man, Whelan told Football Insider: “I can see him establishing himself as a first-team regular at Tottenham, but when you’ve got players of Gareth Bale’s quality and ability with the other wingers that are there, it’s very competitive in the wide positions.
“He’s a very good player, that’s the reason why Jose Mourinho brought him in.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“Jose doesn’t just pick players because he needs to bolster his squad, he picks players because they make everything competitive.
“Right now, you’ve got to say that Gareth Bale is the one player that will be taking that position.
“He’s got competition, it’s about attitude, it’s about showing the manager you deserve that place and you’re willing to fight for your place.
“There’s going to be squad rotation because Tottenham are in Europe and other cup competitions.
“He will get the opportunity but when it does come around, he’s got to show the manager that he deserves it.
“Not like when they went abroad and Jose Mourinho said he saw nothing from his players that were given the opportunity to prove themselves.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The fact that Bergwijn was sent home from the Holland squad with a groin problem suggests that the winger was playing through injury during the last couple of weeks. That is perhaps why he has looked a little lacklustre.
Hopefully, he can recover fully during the international break and come back sharp. The winger has shown that he can be a useful option to have in the squad, even if he does not manage to become a regular starter.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
