Ajax expect to announce the £25m signing of Tottenham winger Steven Bergwijn on Wednesday - and hand Manchester United a transfer boost.
The Dutch giants have agreed a fee, the 24-year-old has travelled to Amsterdam to complete his medical after also agreeing personal terms. Tottenham are getting their money back on a player they signed from PSV Eindhoven in January 2020 and was a favourite of former boss Jose Mourinho who often looked to use him in big games.
But despite making 83 appearances for Tottenham, he only started four games under Antonio Conte and is now surplus to requirements as Spurs look to complete their summer rebuild.]
Tottenham have had a big transfer window after spending £75m on Richarlison and Yves Bissouma while they have signed Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic on free transfers. But now they are beginning to recoup some of the outlay with a deal for Bergwijn while Harry Winks has also been told he can leave with several Premier League clubs chasing him.
Meanwhile, Bergwijn’s arrival may also mean that want away midfielder Lisandro Martinez is nearing the exit door. Argentina star Martinez has asked the club to allow him to fulfil his dream of playing in the Premier League with both Arsenal and United desperate to sign him.
Ajax now spending money on players suggests they are gearing up for exits even if they have so far turned down a £40m bid from United for Martinez and Arsenal have had three attempts to sign him knocked back.
Martinez wants to move to English football and his link with Erik ten Hag may give United the edge as he worked with the new Old Trafford chief at Ajax. But Arsenal see his versatility as being key to their attempts to sign him as the 5ft 9in Martinez can play at centre back, left back and in midfield.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Where will Martinez end up next season? Let us know in the comments section
Meanwhile pundit Steve McManaman said Cristiano Ronaldo's desire to leave United is bizarre and is unsure any of the big clubs would actually be interested in signing him. The former Liverpool and Real Madrid winger told HorseRacing.net: "It’s a very strange one. He only joined a year ago, and that’s just madness in itself. And really he shouldn’t want to leave Manchester United just because they had a poor year. You should want to stay and fight your cause. But I could understand that it might be beneficial to both parties. Ten Hag’s come in and all he’s been asked about is Ronaldo.
"It might be better for Ten Hag to make a clean start without him, because he does warrant a lot of press, questions and talking points all season. If Ten Hag wants to get rid and thinks it’s great and all the numbers add up, then there’s not a problem. Ronny’s 37. I completely understand that he wants to carry on playing in the Champions League but firstly I wouldn’t know who would take him. The deal would be big. Manchester United have given him a lot of money in wages. I have no idea who would pay half-a-million a week, for one more year.
"He’s a superstar but if Manchester United could recoup their money, a new manager coming in might be better to say ‘OK, a new start. Get rid of everybody who doesn’t want to be here. Let’s start afresh’. That’s cool and might be beneficial to Ten Hag. Secretly he might be thinking, ‘this is amazing’. But how this deal is going to materialise when you look at the bigger picture, I just can’t see how it’s going to turn out. You can see Ronny wanting to play in the Champions League but, sometimes, you can’t get what you want. It’s not a nice end to everything with United.”
