Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of PSV winger Steven Bergwijn, who has signed a contract that will run until the summer of 2025.
The Daily Mail claim the deal is worth £27m and having bagged five goals and ten assists in the Eredivisie this season, he represents a promising addition to Tottenham’s attack.
However, fresh arrivals always have some impact on the squad, and more specifically the members of it. With that in mind, we highlight one winner and one loser of Bergwijn joining the Tottenham ranks…
The big fat Tottenham quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Spurs?
Winner: Giovani Lo Celso
Lo Celso’s summer move to Spurs has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Due to injuries, he didn’t actually make his first start until November – however, he’s clearly done enough to impress since then, with Spurs making his loan switch a permanent one earlier this week.
The only question now is how to actually fit the Argentine into this Spurs team. So far, he’s ended up making almost as many starts out wide as through the middle of the pitch – four in the former (including his most recent outing) and six in the latter role as per Transfermarkt.
But with another wide player in Bergwijn joining the squad, that would leave Mourinho with an abundance of options for the flanks, which should in turn see Lo Celso become a near-permanence in the central positions that he suits best.
And add to that the injury problems all of Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko have been experiencing and it feels like an obvious transition.
Loser: Erik Lamela
Erik Lamela has all the makings of an ideal Mourinho player – he’s scrappy and hardworking but looks to create goals as well.
Having recently returned from injury too, this feels like it should be the perfect time for the Argentine to really force his way into the starting XI on a permanent basis, after failing to make more than 13 Premier League starts for Spurs over the last four seasons.
However, Bergwijn’s arrival certainly complicates matters. Heung-min Son and Dele Alli’s places in the team seem pretty much set in stone at left wing and central attacking midfield respectively, and in theory Bergwijn will probably go on to take up the right flank.
Of course, there are potential variations – such as Son moving up front and Bergwijn playing on the left – but the bottom line is that Lamela now faces fresh competition for a place across Spurs’ attacking midfield berth, at a time when he appeared to be getting things back on track.