Jose Mourinho admits Tottenham signing Steven Bergwijn was not his first choice

On target: Bergwijn scored the opener against Man Utd on Friday
AP

Jose Mourinho has revealed that Steven Bergwijn was not his first choice transfer in January but says Tottenham made a "great decision" in signing the winger.

Bergwijn scored a brilliant solo goal as Spurs restarted their season with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Friday, maintaining his record of having netted in every home League game so far.

Tottenham's interest in Bergwijn pre-dated Mourinho's appointment in November and the Portuguese, who is part of the club's transfer committee with chairman Daniel Levy and chief scout Steve Hitchen, suggested the credit for his £26million signing from PSV Eindhoven belonged elsewhere.

"Good player, good professional, good boy," Mourinho said ahead of the visit of West Ham on Tuesday. "Congratulations to my club, the way they did it.

"Initially – and I’m always very honest on this – he wasn’t my first option when we decided to make a movement in the winter. But in the end, a great decision. A player with a great future, can play on the right and the left.

"We’re more than happy, not just his age, but also his professional attitude. The way he trains, the way he lives. He’s the kind of kid that can only be better."

Bergwijn completed 70 minutes on Friday, and added to his goals against Man City and Wolves, after recovering from strained ankle ligaments during the lockdown.

In the break the 22-year-old also returned to the Netherlands for the birth of his first child and Mourinho praised his efforts after no more than a week of training with the team.

"I knew that for him it would be difficult to play the 90 minutes," Mourinho said. "He's another guy who comes from a big injury, comes from a long stop, didn't train more than a week with our team.

"He was working extremely hard in the second half, with United pushing he was even playing more defensive and trying to help Serge Aurier on the side.

In Pictures | Tottenham vs Manchester United | 19/06/2020

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"So I knew that 90 minutes were not there. I was just wishing in that match to have Lucas on the bench because if Lucas was on the bench I could change player by player and then keep the intensity high and that's something we're going to be able to do, because on our bench we will have strong attacking options."

With Lucas Moura available to face the Hammers after a concussion and Dele Alli back from suspension, Mourinho said he had a positive selection headache in attack for West Ham's visit.

"It’s one of these problems that we love," he said. "The problems that we hate were the problems I had for a long period when everybody was injured. Another problem we also don't like when you want to change a player and you don’t have one on the bench from the same position.

"In the last game, we had lost of options in defence and midfield but without Lucas and Dele and by playing with the other four from the beginning, we were a little short. But our squad is amazing in these attacking positions so now we have six guys so I can try to choose well, which is what I always try to do. Try to read the game and use the guys on the bench in the right moment so they can also make an impact on the game. It’s great to have all six available."

Back in the frame: Dele Alli is back afetr serving his suspension
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I

Juan Foyth will also miss West Ham's visit with a knee problem but Mourinho said he hoped to have the Argentine available for some of the remaining eight matches of the campaign.

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