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Ranking Tottenham’s seven Dutch players from worst to best

Steven Bergwijn has arrived at Tottenham, but how does he compare to the other Dutch players who have also played for the Lilywhites?

White Hart Lane has been the home to seven players from the Netherlands over the years, but for every Rafael van der Vaart there was a Vincent Janssen.

We’ve ranked every Dutch player to play for Spurs from worst to best.

7. Mounir El Hamdaoui

El Hamdaoui was signed by fellow Dutchman Martin Jol from Excelsior on a three-and-a-half year contract in January 2005.

The forward had two loan spells at Derby County and never made a competitive first-team appearance for Spurs.

He returned to Holland with Willem II in 2006 before helping AZ Alkmaar win the 2008–09 Eredivisie and being named the Dutch Footballer of the Year.

6. Steven Bergwijn

Spurs signed Bergwijn for £27m from PSV Eindhoven earlier this month after the winger scored 31 goals in 149 appearances for the Dutch club.

“I think it is an amazing move, an amazing club,” Bergwijn told Tottenham’s club website.

“When I was a young boy I looked up to the coach, of course Mourinho, and now I play for him.”

We’re pretty confident that he’ll have a bigger impact than El Hamdaoui.

READ Steven Bergwijn is so exciting we should *all* be giddy he’s off to Spurs

5. Willem Korsten

After a loan spell at Leeds United, Spurs spent £1.5 million to sign Korsten from Vitesse Arnhem in 1999.

His best moment in a Tottenham shirt came against Manchester United in 2001 when the winger scored two wonderful goals in a 3-1 win.

However, that proved to be Korsten’s last game as a professional footballer as he was forced to retire at the age of 26 due to persistent injury problems.

4. Vincent Janssen

Janssen signed for Spurs from AZ Alkmaar after finishing the 2015-16 season as the top goal scorer in the Eredivisie with 27 goals.

He failed to live up to expectations in England and scored just six goals in 42 appearances for Spurs, with four of those coming from the penalty spot.

The striker was ostracised by Mauricio Pochettino before being sold to Mexican side Monterrey for £6.3million in 2019.

3. Edgar Davids

Davids had an incredible career at Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona and Inter Milan, but he was past his best by the time he arrived in north London.

The legendary midfielder provided moments of brilliance and offered more than many expected as Spurs finished in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Davids returned to Holland with Ajax before having two brief spells at Crystal Palace and Barnet.

2. Michael Vorm

The goalkeeper arrived from Swansea City in 2014, making 47 appearances in all competitions while serving as a reliable understudy to Hugo Lloris.

Vorm was released by Spurs in the summer when his contract expired but rejoined the club on a short term deal in October after Lloris dislocated his elbow.

1. Rafael van der Vaart

Van der Vaart joined Spurs from Real Madrid on deadline day in 2010 after helping his nation to the World Cup final in South Africa.

The midfielder only spent two years at White Hart Lane, but became a fan favourite and often saved his best performances for the north London derby.

“That was my two very best years, two years of top performance, many competitions,” Van der Vaart told NOS in 2018.

“I played in a great team with fantastic players, like [Gareth] Bale and [Luka] Modric, which was a pleasure.”

Read: Remembering Rafael van der Vaart’s glorious two years at Tottenham


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