You all saw the bombshell news yesterday that Lucas Bergvall has expressed his desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer after seeing his involvement decline last season under Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor, and Roberto De Zerbi. It’s not a transfer request as I understand it, but rather a “declaration of his wants.” And now we’re seeing the immediate effects of this report coming out, with Athletic writer Jacob Tanswell saying Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa are both showing early interest in the 20-year-old
Swedish international.
Bergvall signed an extension last season and is now contracted to Spurs through 2031, but while like Luka Vuskovic he doesn’t have a ton of leverage, Spurs are said to not want to send him out on loan, and would want £45m to sanction a permanent transfer. That’s a significant increase over the £8.5m they paid to Djurgardens to sign him initially a couple of years ago.
But when Spurs signed Bergvall, they promised him certain things including a pathway to the first team, and over the past season Lucas has seen his minutes decline through a combination of injury and managerial decisions. Alasdair Gold at Football.London says that, in contrast to Postecoglou’s unwavering support, Thomas Frank was distant with Bergvall and never let him feel like he belonged. When Bergvall did get minutes it was frequently out wide or higher up the pitch, rather than in his preferred deeper role as an 8. After Roberto De Zerbi came in to rescue the club from relegation, he prioritized senior players that he thought could make the most impact, and that frequently left younger players including Bergvall and Archie Gray on the bench.
From the outside the match with Postecoglou’s successor Thomas Frank should have been perfect. Another Scandinavian and someone who would know Bergvall well.
Instead it just never really clicked. In contrast to his previous coaches, who had all looked to put an arm around the talented teenager, football.london understands the Dane did not speak to the young midfielder as much individually. Whether it was a ploy to keep Bergvall on his toes – those around some other young Spurs players speak of similar experiences – it instead created unease over whether the youngster was actually in Frank’s plans or not.
— Alasdair Gold, Football.London
It really does feel like things are shaping up for Bergvall to be sold this summer. The Athletic reports that Bergvall had interest from Villa and Chelsea last winter, which Spurs rejected, implying that Bergvall’s dissatisfaction might have extended back that far. Annoyingly, Nottingham Forest would be a pretty ideal place for him to land, since if Forest sell Elliot Anderson as expected, he could slot directly into that deeper playmaker role. Villa might also be an attractive option if they have an opening, but that feels more speculative for now unless Villa give up on extending the contract of Youri Tielemans.
Roberto De Zerbi obviously has his guys that he wants, based on the club’s public pursuit of Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali and West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes. We also don’t know how much contact De Zerbi has had with Bergvall about his future at Tottenham. But none of this feels especially good or will lead people to suggest that Lucas is likely to stay. My guess is that if a concrete offer comes in for Bergvall that’s close enough to Spurs’ asking price, he’ll be gone. That could prove to be a costly blunder, if he lands on his feet and develops for another Premier League club.
