Bergwijn: 'I want to leave Tottenham, now'

Tottenham forward Steven Bergwijn has confirmed his desire to find a new club, saying: "I want to leave Spurs now, that's for sure." The Netherlands international has been linked with a move away from the Premier League side since the January transfer window, having struggled for game time since the arrival of Antonio Conte as head coach in November.

Bergwijn has started just one league game under the Italian, making a further 19 appearances from the bench, scoring three goals. His most notable contribution during the season came when he was introduced in the 79th minute away at Leicester City with his team 2-1 down, before scoring twice in stoppage time to turn the game around.

The 24-year-old joined Spurs in January 2020 from PSV Eindhoven for a reported fee of £27million, and has made 83 appearances for the club in all competitions (38 starts), scoring eight goals. Bergwijn, who scored for his country in Friday's 4-1 win at Belgium in the Nations League, told Dutch outlet 'AD' he wants "clarity" on his future soon.

"I'm with the Netherlands national team now and then we'll have a look," he said. "It would be nice if there was clarity soon. I just have to go play. But I want to leave Spurs now, that's for sure."

Bergwijn also said he would be happy to join a team not competing in the Champions League, and revealed he was denied the opportunity to leave the north London club in January. "That's not even top priority [playing in the Champions League]. Though it would be nice. What's important is that I'm going to play," he said.

"I wasn't allowed to leave Spurs in the winter and then I didn't have any problems. The last few months I was hardly looked after there. Now I want to play somewhere every week." Bergwijn has been strongly linked with a move to Ajax, and admitted he could move back to his home country, especially with the World Cup looming at the end of the year.

"That could be, yes," he said when asked about the possibility. "It's about my situation now, that has to be different."