Steven Bergwijn reveals when Ajax made first move and why it's a step up after Tottenham exit

Steven Bergwijn's Tottenham exit finally came to fruition on Friday morning when his transfer to Ajax was confirmed. Linked with a move to the Eredivisie for quite some time due to his lack of match action in N17, the Dutchman has returned to the club he represented as a youngster and penned a five-year contract at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.

Tipped to head back to his homeland in January, Bergwijn instead remained at Spurs and had to make do with minutes off the bench as the Lilywhites qualified for a place in the Champions League. Now he has got his wish to represent Ajax, the attacker has confirmed that the process first started about 18 months ago as the Dutch giants looked to sign the player, with his minutes limited in north London.

"It took a while, it was a lot of back and forth but here we are," he said in an interview with Ajax's official website. "It started about a year and a half ago. At a certain point, I started to playing a bit less at Tottenham, then Ajax came knocking a few times. It almost happened then but, one way or another, it didn't work out then. Now, it has finally happened."

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Bergwijn was initially surprised when Ajax first expressed an interest in signing him but he believes it is a step up for him now as he looks set to get the minutes on the pitch he desperately craves week in, week out.

"I was a bit shocked. I didn't see it coming, actually," he added. "But yeah I was getting left out of the team there and of course you just want to play. So if you can go back to Ajax it's quite tempting. They always do well in the league and the Champions League. So, it's a step up for me."

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