9 of the Best (& Worst) Forwards Signed From the Eredivisie in Premier League History

Tottenham confirmed the signing of Steven Bergwijn on Wednesday, just one day after Christian Eriksen's departure was confirmed.

Interestingly, both of these players were procured from Eredivisie sides with Bergwijn arriving from PSV Eindhoven, while Eriksen was poached from Ajax in 2013.

The Dutch league has often provided English clubs with a wealth of talent, sometimes for very reasonable prices as well. However, more than one Premier League side have had their fingers burnt after snapping up an Eredivisie 'star'.

Here's a look back at some of the best... and some of the worst, attacking recruits from the Netherlands over the years.

Luis Suarez

On January 31 2011 Liverpool signed two players: Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz and Andrew Thomas Carroll.

Carroll was the headline (and more expensive) recruit, with the Reds breaking their transfer record to prise him away from Newcastle United. However, it would be Ajax hitman Luis Suarez who would go to write his name into Anfield folklore.

The Uruguayan scored 82 goals in 133 appearances for the Reds, including a ridiculous 31 in 33 games during the 2013/14 Premier League season. His goals nearly dragged Liverpool kicking and screaming to the league title and he was awarded the PFA and FWA Player of the Year awards before moving to Barcelona.

Quite possibly, the best Eredivisie signing in English footballing history.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Okay...Ruud van Nistelrooy wasn't half bad either.

Brought in from PSV at the beginning of the 2001/02 season, the Dutchman would go on to bag the Champions League Golden Boot on three occasions as Manchester United clinched a host of silverware (one Premier League, an FA Cup and the League Cup) during his five seasons at the club.

Two-time Dutch Football of the Year Van Nistelrooy was a born predator and more than justified his £18.5m price tag.

Afonso Alves

From two of the best Premier League strikers of all time to one of the most disappointing...

Middlesbrough smashed their transfer record to bring in Afonso Alves from Heerenveen in January 2008, paying a (then) whopping €20m for his services.

Alves top-scored in the Eredivisie the previous season with an incredible 34 goals in just 31 games. Unfortunately, the Brazilian came nowhere close to replicating this form for Gareth Southgate's side - netting just four times during the 2008/2009 campaign as Boro' were relegated. Yikes.

Jozy Altidore

An expensive flop from the Eredivisie signed by a doomed football club from the Northeast?! I see your Afonso Alves and raise you one Jozy Altidore!

Signed by Sunderland in 2013 from AZ Alkmaar, £9m Altidore was bad...really bad.

Having already disappointed at Hull a few years prior, the American scored just once in 42 Premier League games for the Black Cats before slinking off to MLS with his tail between his legs, where admittedly he did pretty well.

Victor Janssen

Ah Victor Janssen, we hardly knew thee.

Signed from AZ as an understudy for Harry Kane in 2016, Janssen went on to do very little for Tottenham before strangely departing for Mexican side Monterrey last year.

Overall, the target man managed two Premier League goals during his stay in England, a far cry from the 27 he hit during the 2015/2016 campaign for AZ that earned him the move in the first place.

Dirk Kuyt

Back to the good ones!

Dirk Kuyt's raw goalscoring stats are not all that impressive but the Dutchman played a pivotal, heart-on-his-sleeve, every-last-breath role at Liverpool during his six years at the club.

Signed from Feyenoord in 2006 as a goalscorer, Kuyt mainly operated as a winger - providing an industrious presence on the right-hand side.

He also had a knack for scoring important goals, including a penalty brace against Everton in 2007 that earned the Reds a vital win over their bitter rivals and a hat-trick (form a combined distance of about six yards) against Manchester United in 2011.

Memphis Depay

Memphis Depay is one part of an extensive list of players who have failed to prosper after signing for Manchester United in the post-Ferguson years.

United beat a number of clubs to Depay's signature back in 2015, bringing him in for a fee of around £25m from PSV, following a season in which he scored 22 in 30 in the Netherlands and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year.

It just didn't happen for him at Old Trafford though, with the forward only managing seven goals in all competitions before being sold to Lyon after a season and a half, where he has rediscovered his groove.

Robin van Persie

One of Arsene Wenger's finest ever pieces of business in the transfer market, little-known forward Robin van Persie was plucked from Feyenoord for just £2.75m in 2004.

The technically gifted young striker, who hadn't been prolific in his two seasons in the Eredivisie, got to learn under the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry and grew into the Premier League's most feared front man.

Despite injury problems, RVP bagged 96 in 194 in England's top flight for the Gunners - including some truly spectacular efforts - but had to wait until his controversial move to Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd in 2012 to win his first Premier League title.

Mateja Kezman

A striking flop from the Eredivise before it was cool, Kezman was an unstoppable goal machine before he joined Jose Mourinho's Chelsea back in 2004.

The Serbian scored a frankly incredible 105 in 122 Eredivisie games for PSV, and 33 in 55 for Partizan Belgrade before that..but, alas, the jump the Premier League just didn't come off.

Kezman scored just seven times in 41 appearances that season (just four times in the league) and was unceremoniously shipped off to Atletico Madrid at the end of the year, where he continued to forget how to score goals.

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Source : 90min