Player insists he made ‘perfect choice’ to leave Spurs – Defends his recent form

Steven Bergwijn has said that he is pleased with his choice to join Ajax last summer and insisted that his recent form has not been as bad as it is made out to be.

Bergwijn returned to Dutch football in the summer, two and a half years on from his move to Spurs, with Ajax paying €31.25m (£26.8m) to snap up him.

The 25-year-old would have hoped to get his career back on track in the Eredivisie after a couple of challenging years at Tottenham but things have not been as rosy in Amsterdam as the winger would have expected.

While his numbers this season make for decent reading, with eight goals and four assists in 19 Eredivisie matches (Transfermarkt), the overwhelming majority of those came in the first couple of months of the campaign.

The former Spurs man has not been in the best of form since November but he argues that he has improved as a player since moving to Ajax.

Speaking to Algemeen Dagblad (16/02/23 as translated by Sport Witness), Bergwijn described the move as the “perfect choice” and went on to add: “I learn every day and get better at Ajax. Football is not always on an upward trend. I just didn’t expect it to tip over like that, nobody expected that.

“If you don’t win seven games, you obviously try to get the best out of yourself, but that’s difficult if the team isn’t running. Coincidentally, we were talking about it in the locker room the other day. None of us have experienced such a series.”

The Netherlands international insisted that he is not bothered by the criticism he gets, remarking that he remains focused on helping the club win trophies.

When asked about his critics, the winger responded: “I’m used to it by now. The reviews fluctuate a lot. Very black and white.

“I’m the best when I score a lot and otherwise, I can’t do anything about it. When things went well and I was sent things, I already said: watch it.

“I have never been a top scorer. All I came for is winning prizes. If I’m the top scorer later, that’s great. If not, I don’t care if we’re on the Museumplein. That is the most important.

“I had not signed up for this after my start, no. Opponents only adjust to you more and you see how important it is that the team is running.

“I believe it’s close together and I can put down another series soon. The top scorer in the Eredivisie is eleven goals. I’m on the wing with eight [goals]. That’s not bad, is it?”

Spurs Web Opinion

I have to admit that I felt that Bergwijn was underused by Conte and I expected him to completely rip the Eredivisie apart on his return. However, that has not quite materialised the £27m we got for the winger seems like a better and better deal with each passing week.

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