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‘Listen’: £26m player says he went straight to Tottenham director to demand a move away
Steven Bergwijn has lifted the lid on his decision to leave Tottenham Hotspur at the end of last season.
Spurs sold the Netherlands international to Ajax for £26million at the start of the July.
Bergwijn had long struggled to establish himself as a first-team player at Tottenham.
And under Antonio Conte, the 24-year-old remained on the fringes of the Spurs squad.
Last season, Bergwijn made just eight starts in all competitions for Tottenham.
Indeed, he managed just 397 minutes of action under Conte following his arrival at Spurs.
Speaking to – via – Bergwijn reflected on his non-existent relationship with Conte.
“When he told the media in the winter break that I was going to be important and he did not want me to go to Ajax, I thought: okay, this is not the moment to argue. Let’s see if it changes,” he said.
“You work hard and you play well, but you always get three or four minutes playing time. You don’t want that. It was very frustrating. I’m not the guy you see smiling here all the time.
“I had no bond with Conte. I think we only had one conversation, after the last training of the season.
“I then walked up to the director and said, ‘Listen, I’m not coming back. We’re going to find a solution. I just want to leave’.
“He (Conte) said: ‘Sorry that I didn’t let you play much. We had no cup matches and I really wanted to finish fourth to make it to the Champions League’.
“He chose Harry Kane in the striker’s box. I understood that, but I could also play in other positions. I just didn’t want to get into a ‘yes-no’ situation any more.”