Paper Talk: Bergwijn comes clean on £30m Tottenham transfer

Steven Berwijn has confirmed he is to join Tottenham this week after he explained the circumstances around his exit, while Chelsea have been offered the chance to secure the signing of £27m-rated AC Milan star, according to Monday’s Paper Talk.

 

BERGWIJN CONFIRMS HE IS ON HIS WAY TO SPURS

Tottenham are expected to tie up the signature of Steven Bergwijn after having an increased bid for the winger accepted by PSV Eindhoven.

Reports on Sunday claimed Spurs had agreed a fee with the Dutch outfit for the player, though not before The Sun claimed Jose Mourinho’s side were forced to up their initial down-payment for the player.

Spurs are now expected to pay £20million up front for the Holland forward, with a further £10million in installments, with Mourinho reported to be thrilled at the prospect of landing a player he first earmarked as a target while manager at Manchester United.

Mourinho is thought to be a big fan of Bergwijn’s versatility, with the forward able to play across the front three and has scored six goals this season.

Bergwijn did not feature in PSV’s 1-1 draw against Twente on Sunday and reports had claimed the seven-times capped winger pulled out of the game in order to travel to London to finalise the transfer.

However, the 22-year-old has spoken out to deny those claims and also confirmed he has been given permission to join Tottenham with his club’s blessing.

‘Good evening PSV fans, a lot was said about me, I’ve read all of it and I’m disappointed with how this went down,’ Bergwijn said on Instagram.

‘None of it is true, I never refused to play for PSV and I would never do so in the future. I’m a boy from the club, PSV is in my heart.

 

‘The media is twisting this whole story, I called the coach this morning and said some things are going on and he gave his permission.

‘He then wished me success [at Tottenham], everything went fine and I did everything in a good manner without going behind PSV’s back. Thank you.’

Bergwijn leaves PSV having won three Eredivisie titles with the club and is expected to sign a four-and-a-half-year deal at Tottenham.

Meanwhile, Mourinho is keen on a move for Juventus midfielder Emre Can and is preparing to offer over €30m to sign the former Liverpool man, according to reports.

 

 

AND THE REST

Krzysztof Piatek TEAMtalk

Chelsea have been offered a £27m Krzysztof Piatek transfer and could battle Tottenham for the AC Milan striker (Daily Express)

Tottenham have reportedly created a four-man shortlist including Timo Werner as a back-up option to Willian Jose because negotiations with Real Sociedad are proving difficult (Daily Express)

Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been approached by Paris Saint-German over a potential move to the Ligue 1 champions as a replacement for outgoing striker Edinson Cavani (Daily Express)

Manchester United will offer Sunderland’s highly-rated 16-year-old English defensive midfielder Logan Pye a five-year deal after he was linked with Arsenal (The Sun)

Rafa Benitez is being targeted to make a sensational return as Newcastle manager (The Sun)

Newcastle’s proposed £340m takeover is reportedly “90 per cent certain” after a shell company created by Amanda Stavely was registered to facilitate the deal (The Sun)

Manchester United are refusing to drop their £25m asking price for Chris Smalling despite a plea from Roma (The Sun)

Arsenal are ready to join Everton in the battle to sign Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, according to reports (The Sun)

Charlton could be set to sign Paul Pogba’s brother Florentin in a sensational swoop as the Addicks look to bolster their squad (The Sun)

Sheffield United have had a bid for Norway midfielder Sander Berge rejected by Genk, with West Ham also interested in the 21-year-old, who has also been linked with Liverpool and Man Utd (Daily Mail)

 

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi was linked with leaving the London side in the summer but Gunners boss Mikel Arteta believes he can turn around the German international’s career at the club (Daily Telegraph)

Ronaldinho has tipped compatriot Gabriel Martinelli to become one of the best players in the world (Daily Mirror)

Leicester have reportedly made a bid for Brest midfielder Ibrahima Diallo (Daily Mirror)

Lyon are closing in on Arsenal target Bruno Guimaraes from Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense (Daily Mirror)

Liverpool are prepared to sanction Nathaniel Clyne’s departure to Bournemouth in the next week, according to multiple sources (Daily Mirror)

Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can’s rather uneventful spell at Juventus could be about to end with a move to Borussia Dortmund (Daily Mirror)

Celtic have rubbished talk that Monaco have made an approach for Odsonne Edouard (The Scottish Sun)

Bristol City have slapped a not-for-sale sign on Celtic target Niclas Eliasson (Daily Record)