Newcastle United may no longer be leading the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall despite maintaining strong interest in the Sweden international and having seen their first bid rejected by the Spurs.
The Magpies have been linked with the 20-year-old throughout the summer, with the first formal offer reported just a few days ago. Now, however, a new report suggests another Premier League club has moved into pole position to land Bergvall.
According to Football Insider’s Keith Wyness
and Evan Shaw, Nottingham Forest is now the favourite to land the Spurs midfielder after both Forest and Newcastle reportedly saw offers worth more than €47 million (£40 million) rejected by Tottenham.
The report says Spurs are holding out for at least €59 million (£50 million), a figure both clubs are expected to be capable of meeting following the sales of Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, formerly of Newcastle, and Elliot Anderson of Nott Forest.
However, Wyness believes the decision could ultimately come down to the player, who he believes prefers to move to the City Ground instead of St. James’ Park.
“I actually see Forest coming out on top on this one,” Wyness said on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast. “I think the manager at Forest will be the factor that will convince him to go there.
“Both clubs have got war chests in terms of the sales that they’ve done. Both clubs need to improve in those positions. But I’ve just got a feeling that Forest are going to be the ones that come out on top.
“I don’t think there’ll be any difference between the two of them. It’ll be up to the player to decide. And from what I’m hearing, I think he’s going to choose Forest.”
The report adds that Forest views Bergvall as the ideal, one-for-one replacement for Elliot Anderson, while Oliver Glasner’s arrival as manager is believed to have strengthened the club’s position in the race.
Newcastle should remain firmly in contention, but it looks like we’re back to facing the possibility of dealing with another blow for one of the club’s top targets.
