Antonio Conte changes mind about Tottenham star
James Shearman
- 23 Feb 2022 14:04 CST
- 3 min read
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has reportedly changed his mind about Steven Bergwijn.
Conte had previously expressed Bergwijn's importance to the team moving forward, but it appears he has not been impressed since.
The Dutchman signed for Spurs from PSV Eindhoven in a £27 million deal two years ago.
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He made an immediate impact, scoring a fine goal in a debut victory over Manchester City, but that remains one of few top performances in his time in north London.
In fact, Bergwijn has registered just seven goals and 10 assists in 69 appearances for the club.
The 24-year-old did score two of those goals in Tottenham's stoppage time win over Leicester City last month.
This looked as though it would ensure his place in the team, especially after Conte's post-match comments.
''He is very good in one vs one, good to beat the man,'' the Italian said. ''He can play striker, he can play number 10 and for us, for me, he is an important player.''
Bergwijn to leave Tottenham?
Tottenham turned down an approach for Bergwijn from Ajax in the January transfer window. The Dutch club failed to meet Spurs' £20.8m (€25m) valuation.
But, chairman Daniel Levy is now willing to part ways with the forward for between £15m (€18m) and £16.7m (€20m), according to Calciomercato.
The turning point in Spurs' stance on Bergwijn could have been the signing of Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus.
Antonio Conte: “Paratici signed Kulusevski at Juventus only to damage myself, as I wanted him at Inter. It’s always about the strategy”. ⚪️ #THFC
“He tried also with Lukaku, Paratici. To buy Lukaku for Juve because he knew very well that I like him and wanted him in my team”. pic.twitter.com/LhpYoov5fq— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 23, 2022
The Sweden international has made an excellent start to life in England, helping the Lilywhites to a victory over league leaders Manchester City on Saturday, in very similar fashion to Bergwijn's debut.
Now, Serie A giants AC Milan are now the favourites to take advantage of Tottenham's lowered asking price.
Directors Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara are thought to be keen on the idea of bringing the pacey winger to San Siro.
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