Bergwijn joined Spurs from PSV form £27million after Mourinho contacted him personally to discuss a switch to north London, which left the player in no doubt it was the right move.
In fact, when Mourinho met the Bergwijn family at Tottenham’s Enfield training ground on Wednesday afternoon, the emotion of it all prompted Bergwijn’s dad to burst into tears of joy. Bergwijn’s agent Fulco van Kooperen said: “Steven had a FaceTime call with Mourinho – and he was very impressed.
“Imagine that, as a young player, you suddenly have Mourinho looking and talking to you on your mobile phone!
“Steven knew that other Holland internationals such as Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Memphis Depay had also worked with Mourinho, but, after that conversation, he didn’t even feel he needed to ask their opinion.
“He had a great feeling about Mourinho after talking to him and that was enough to be convinced he was making the right decision.
“What impressed Steven most was that Mourinho knew everything about him. Jose explained in detail how he wants to play for Tottenham.
“Mourinho told him that this was the moment to move, so he could develop more as a player at a high level before the European Championship.”