Antonio Conte warned about Steven Bergwijn exit amidst game time struggles
Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam has issued a warning to Antonio Conte that he could see the potential exit of Steven Bergwijn from Tottenham Hotspur due to his struggles with game time. The attacker has seen himself earn fewer minutes in the past few weeks, which has cast doubts about his future at the club.
Bergwijn failed to make an impact consistently before the arrival of Conte. Since then, the winger has done really well at Tottenham, with some of his most notable performances coming against Leicester City and West Ham United. It was believed that these displays were the signs of things to come, especially when the boss himself has expressed in the past that the attacker is “important” for him.
Speaking in an interview with bettingexpert (h/t Football.London), Stam has cautioned the Italian boss that the Dutch forward could decide to leave Spurs in the future if the current situation does not change. The ex-Man United ace added that the attacker would eventually assess his options, and a departure could be likely if the lack of minutes persists moving forward.
Bergwijn could leave?
“He’s [Bergwijn] still quite young. If you want to make steps for yourself as a player at a certain level, and if you want to get back into the good graces of [Louis] Van Gaal, in terms of playing for the national team, then it is better of course for him to play more games. You can say maybe he’s happy at Tottenham, and you never know what the relationship is within the club and with the coach as well.”
The 24-year-old has failed to earn even 1000 minutes of action under his belt this season so far. Moreover, he was featured for a mere five minutes in total in the past three Premier League games. That is a really concerning figure, and should it continue, Stam’s words could become true after all.
No player would want to just sit idly by, especially someone like the PL star who has the qualities to be successful at a top club. After all, Ajax were heavily interested in the attacker in the January transfer window, but a move never came to fruition in the end.
“If it takes too long [for him to get regular starts], then there’s a big chance that he might say, ‘okay, maybe I need to look for something else as well to play’. I’m not saying that Steven Bergwijn is like this. But in general, a lot of players normally think that they need, that they deserve, to play.”
Perhaps, the Eredivisie club could return once again after this term should they rekindle their interest in the coming months. It is a bit puzzling to see how Bergwijn’s situation has turned out to be over the past few weeks or so.
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The Dutchman could have easily been given more minutes to keep starters like Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane fresh in various matches. After all, the former can play in all positions in a three-man attacking front, so that surely should have been a possibility. But even that was not the case as Bergwijn struggled to earn game time.
Let’s hope that the situation changes in the coming months as it is essential to keep the players happy and content to ensure harmony in the squad. We would require Bergwijn’s services next season when there would be more competitions for us to engage. Hence, it would be wise to give him minutes so as not to lose him through a potential summer departure, as Stam expressed.
