Can PSV star Steven Bergwijn flourish at Manchester United?
The last time Manchester United spent heavily on a Dutch winger, he left a few seasons later with his confidence shattered and a lack of game time affecting his fitness. Now while Memphis Depay has turned his career around, it looks like the Red Devils are going to try again but this time with PSV star Steven Bergwijn, according to Team-Talk.
Barely 21, the Dutchman has been in fine form for the Eredivisie side and produced a phenomenal 18 goals in 24 appearances so far. The former Ajax youth star has had some rise since his move to PSV and has seen his value sky-rocket in the seasons since, thanks to one impressive performance after another.
However, thanks to the Champions League, Bergwijn was able to showcase what he could do in Europe’s top competition, scoring one goal and producing another in seven appearances.
For Manchester United, the 21-year old’s performances simply mean that they’ve finally found a player who can replace Alexis Sanchez. Once a prolific star, the Chilean hasn’t had the best of times at Old Trafford and Bergwijn is the perfect man to replace him, especially at £25million.
The Dutch international’s versatility allows him to play across the front-line and his agility combined with great acceleration makes him a very useful player to have in the final third.
But like many youngsters, Steven Bergwijn needs time to grow and improve further with his technical skills letting him down at times and he needs to improve his defensive contributions. The English love watching their players sprint back and help the time defending, which is something that the 21-year-old isn’t that great at but has time on his side to improve that.
What questions may arise, however, is given Depay’s struggles to adapt to a very physical league, can Steven Bergwijn survive in a similar environment?
While that is something that remains to be seen, Bergwijn definitely has the skills and mindset to survive, maybe even thrive in the Premier League. But like most newcomers, it will take him time to adjust. If given enough time to settle down and play the Manchester United way, then the Red Devils get an intelligent, creative and a lethal star.
Not only that, Steven Bergwijn alongside Justin Kluivert, Matthias De Ligt and even Frenkie De Jong, is the future of Dutch football.
