Spurs offer Bergwijn in fresh bid for Richarlison

Tottenham Hotspur are offering Dutch international Steven Bergwijn as a key part of the proposed deal with Everton for striker Richarlison, with an additional balance of around £20million payable to the Merseyside club.

So far the player-plus-cash offer has been firmly rejected by Everton. It represents the latest strategy from Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to sign the 25-year-old, who is also among those targeted by Chelsea.

Levy had originally suggested that Harry Winks be part of the deal for Richarlison, but the England midfielder did not interest Everton manager Frank Lampard. Lucas Moura, another Brazilian, was also among those Spurs would have been prepared to trade.

Bergwijn, 24, signed for Spurs from PSV Eindhoven in January 2020 for a fee of around £27 million. Originally, Spurs had an interest in Anthony Gordon and Ben Godfrey as well as Richarlison but now the deal, from Spurs’ point of view, has become solely about the Brazilian. In the most recent negotiations, Gordon was not a factor.

The talks come against a background of scepticism from Everton’s top-flight rivals about whether they had met financial fair play regulations but the Premier League’s position is that the Merseyside club are compliant with profit and sustainability requirements, although it has not been made clear on what terms that is contingent.

The Brazil international would be Spurs’ second major signing of the window after Croatian Ivan Perisic, 33, who was a free agent. The deals are part of a rebuild at the club to encourage manager Antonio Conte to commit for the long term. Billionaire Joe Lewis, the principal shareholder in Bahamas-based subsidiary Enic, which owns Spurs, committed £150million this summer in return for equity to fund transfers.