Steven Bergwijn AFC Ajax, who was in the same team with Son Heung-min at Tottenham Hotspur, is drawing attention from other clubs this summer.
Fabrizio Romano, an expert on the European soccer transfer market, said on Wednesday that Bergwijn should pay attention in the summer due to Ajax's financial problems. "It can be on the market at around 2,000 pounds 34.3 billion won."
Ajax had a failed season this season. It confirmed its fifth place with 15 wins, 10 draws, eight losses and 55 points from the Netherlands' Eredivisie. It failed to advance to the UEFA Champions League next season. It also failed to make it to the Europa League and Conference League, and even its coach was replaced during the season.
To make matters worse, the club has to sell key players due to poor financial conditions. Ajax plans to sell its captain Berchwein. Berchwein is a Dutch winger. He is a striker who has diverse tools including speed and dribbling, solid physicality, diligent off-the-ball movement, and linked play.
Bergwijn is a former Ajax youth team but left Ajax due to a clash with his coach, where he moved to PSV Eindhoven, his archrival. After going through PSV's youth system in 2014-15, he was promoted to the second team, the dragon PSV, and even made his debut for PSV's first team in May 2015.
Since then, he has been registered as a full-fledged first-team entry since the 2016-17 season, and has been a key player in the team since the 2017-18 season. In the 2018-19 season, he showed an outstanding performance by scoring 14 goals and 12 assists in 33 matches in the Eredivisie, and joined the English Premier League EPL by signing a contract with Tottenham in January 2020.
His appearance was spectacular. Bergwijn scored his debut goal in his Premier League debut match against Manchester City, spearheading his team's victory. At Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019-20 season, Bergwijn was praised as a successful recruit to the winter transfer window with three goals and one assist in 14 Premier League matches.
However, the team had disappointing results during the 2020-21 season. Bergwijn had one goal and three assists in 31 matches, showing the worst performance unlike the previous season. He failed to get a chance to play as a starting member, losing ground to Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura, and turned into a resource for rotation.
Ultimately, after the 2021-22 season, Bergwijn chose to move to Ajax, where he played. Last season, Bergwijn made a spectacular comeback to the Eredivisie. He successfully recovered his prime time by scoring 15 goals and six assists in 40 matches. Ajax made it to the UEFA Europa League last season as a third-place finisher.
He was named Ajax's new captain this season. With added responsibility, the team could put pressure on the team. However, Bergwijn did his part when Ajax was in trouble, scoring 12 goals and four assists in 23 matches in the league. Ajax, which was on the verge of relegation, was the biggest driving force behind the team's move to fifth place. 바다이야기
Such performance is attracting the attention of big clubs again. In the winter transfer market, it has already received an offer from the Premier League club once. West Ham United inquired about the signing of Berchwein. However, in the winter transfer market, the transfer was canceled due to Ajax's refusal.
It is a different story in this summer's transfer window. Ajax must sell Bergwijn to ease the club's financial situation. "Even after West Ham's interest in the January transfer window, Bergwijn is still on the list for several Premier League clubs," Romano added.