Steven Bergwijn made a huge impact when he joined Tottenham Hotspur.
Arriving in January of last year, he was in fine form throughout his first few games in the white shirt.
He scored on his debut against Manchester City in a shock 2-0 win, and also netted against both Wolves and Manchester United before the end of the campaign.
This season, though, he has been poor.
He has been limited to just one start in the league, coming on as a substitute three times, and has mainly been a rotation option, playing three times in Europa League qualifying and once in the group stage.
The two assists he has to his name this season both came against Maccabi Haifa in a straightforward 7-2 win.
After the signing of Gareth Bale, one has to think that he has slipped further down the pecking order, and it could well limit his chances of becoming a star in 2020/21.
Nevertheless, Football.London reporter Rob Guest, who covers Spurs, believes that the Netherlands international has a “big future” at the club.
In a Q&A, he was asked by a supporter whether he still has a future at the club, and Guest said: “Steven Bergwijn still has a big future at Tottenham. There's really only one position up for grabs in attack and he has Bale, Lucas (Moura) and (Erik) Lamela competing with him for it at present which probably explains his lack of minutes so far.
“He needs to use the Europa League to boost his chances of playing in the league but he must do more than he did last Thursday in Antwerp when presented with a chance.”
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
Guest is right.
Bergwijn started against Antwerp and lasted just 45 minutes as Spurs slumped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat.
He was not even in the squad for the 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on the subsequent weekend, and one has to think that was a punishment from manager Jose Mourinho.
He remains a talented prospect, though, a player who is capable of running at players and beating them, while also creating chances.
But after Bale’s return, one has to think that he will have to grab any chances that come his way with both hands.
He has yet to do that this season.