West Ham United have been dealt a potential blow in their pursuit of Ajax’s Steven Bergwijn.
The Hammers have been strongly linked with signing the former Spurs winger with leading transfer journalist and CaughtOffside columnist Fabrizio Romano recently claiming the Dutchman is ‘one of’ David Moyes’ ‘top targets’.
??? Understand Steven Bergwijn is one of the top targets for West Ham in the January transfer window in case they will be able to find budget after outgoings.
More PL and Saudi clubs are also keen on Bergwijn as he could leave Ajax in case of good proposal. pic.twitter.com/bBhJYdGwK5
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 6, 2024
However, speaking recently about the prospect of the 26-year-old heading back to London, Kelvin De Lang, who works as Ajax’s head of transfers, has admitted the club do not want to sell him in January.
“He is our captain”, De Lang told Dutch outlet Voetbal International.
“You don’t want to get rid of him in January.”
As we all know, money often talks in football, and with Ajax considered one of Europe’s selling clubs, Hammers fans will still be expecting their club to get their way during negotiations.
As for the player himself, with Bergwijn a full international and Ajax’s captain, signing him would send a major signal of intent to the rest of the league at a time when Moyes has revealed the club’s plans to become an established Champions League side.
Since joining the 28-time Eredivise champions 18 months ago, Bergwijn, who has three-and-a-half years left on his contract, has scored 24 goals and registered nine assists in 65 games in all competitions.