When Antonio Conte spoke last week about the desperate need to get his injured players back to breathe new life into Tottenham’s season, Steven Bergwijn’s name did not immediately spring to mind.
The defensive solidity of Eric Dier and Cristian Romero has been more sorely missed, so too the balance and thrust offered by Sergio Reguilon down the left and the irreplaceable attacking talents of Heung-min Son.
In fact, given interest from Ajax — who have failed with a £15million opening bid for the Dutchman already this month — it seemed that if Bergwijn was to be making a defining contribution to anyone’s season anytime soon, it would more likely be in the land of tulips, windmills and clogs than in Leicester.
Yet here he was, sent off the bench at the King Power on his first appearance since Boxing Day on a rescue mission, Spurs undeservedly trailing to goals from Patson Daka and James Maddison, despite Harry Kane’s 250th career club goal, 18 of them coming in just 17 appearances against the Foxes.
Bergwijn’s impact was more immediate and more significant than even Conte could have hoped, the forward scoring an equaliser in the 95th minute and then, less than two minutes later as time ran out, a famous winner as well.
The scenes of celebration in front of the away end at both that late, late goal and again at full-time soon after (Leicester had been allowed to restart but not much more) felt hugely significant, and even in the cold light of day it is difficult not to be drawn into the narrative that this result might prove the belated launchpad for Conte’s reign.
Whether the same can be said for Bergwijn’s meandering Spurs career remains to be seen.
He was a star performer in the Carabao Cup quarter-final win over West Ham before Christmas, but these two goals, 79 seconds apart, represent the sum total of his League returns so far this season.
The 24-year-old’s two years in north London have been littered with occasional false dawns, not least his debut, which he marked with a goal against Manchester City back in February 2020.
Perhaps the two nights may yet prove neat bookends to a Spurs career that never lived up to its early promise; should Ajax return with a suitably improved offer, the first arrival of Jose Mourinho’s tenure could yet become the first out of the door during Conte’s reign, but the Italian, who is determined to increase the size of his squad at the very least this month, is not keen on that idea.
Tottenham’s board may have to think twice, too, about the prospect of moving on a player who last night spared them the wrath of the travelling support.
At 2-1 down, there were chants for Daniel Levy’s head amid the club’s failure, two-thirds of the way through what was viewed as an important — albeit challenging — January window, to bring in a single new signing, despite Conte’s increasingly desperate insistence that reinforcements must arrive even if significant upgrades in terms of quality have to wait until the summer.
That Bergwijn is unlikely to trouble Conte’s first-choice XI — upon Son’s return — is something of a moot point, and not simply because with 18-minute cameos like this, who needs 90?
Last night marked 160 days since the Premier League season began and only now, with just 123 until its finale, have Spurs completed the first half of their fixtures. Even without European football, a pile-up is coming, and Conte needs all his options available.
Having started the game with a midfield trio of Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg — who, in fairness, delivered more attacking threat than anticipated — it was hardly surprising to hear Conte reference his squad’s lack of creativity, with Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli seemingly done and Giovani Lo Celso unreliable.
“Steven is a player that if he’s in good physical condition and has good fitness he can start games or come on and change the game,” Conte said.
If Conte looking for evidence to support that case, then this was not a bad example.
