£60m Price Tag Keeps Lucas Bergvall at Tottenham
Lucas Bergvall remains a Tottenham player after the English transfer window closed, despite Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United both making bids for the 20-year-old. Forest were at one stage confident of completing a deal, but it did not materialise. With the window shut, Bergvall is set to stay at Spurs until at least January.
The account of the transfer interest was published by The Athletic on September 4. It came during a summer in which Tottenham took a different approach to player sales. Luka Vuskovic, Pape Matar Sarr and Kevin Danso were allowed to leave after wanting exits, while Guglielmo Vicario, Djed Spence and Cristian Romero also moved on. Tottenham raised more than £130 million through sales.
Bergvall had expressed a preference to leave before Spurs signed Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali in club-record deals, increasing competition for midfield places. He joined from Djurgarden for £8.5 million in the summer of 2024 and signed a new six-year contract in April, underlining Tottenham’s continued belief in his potential.
Why the numbers didn’t add up
Tottenham were prepared to sell Bergvall for around £60 million, including a significant sell-on clause. That would have represented a substantial profit on the fee paid to Djurgarden. Forest were prepared to break their transfer record but considered Spurs’ valuation too high. Newcastle submitted a £46 million bid that exceeded Forest’s approach but remained below Tottenham’s asking price.
According to sources close to the dressing room cited by The Athletic, Bergvall became frustrated late last season after being used out of position in training and felt his development was being overlooked. He told Roberto De Zerbi that he wanted to leave after the season, with concerns over game time also shaping his position.
A face-to-face conversation with De Zerbi during Tottenham’s pre-season tour of New Zealand and Australia improved Bergvall’s outlook. De Zerbi could not guarantee game time, but the pair had positive discussions about Bergvall’s future and a development plan. Bergvall remained open to leaving, although he continued to work professionally in pre-season.
What happens next
The central issue is still opportunity. Tonali and Fernandes joined a midfield group that also includes Rodrigo Bentancur, Conor Gallagher, Archie Gray and James Maddison, while Tottenham have no European football this season to create additional minutes. Bergvall performed well in the 5-1 League Cup win over Charlton Athletic but was an unused substitute against Newcastle three days later.
Bergvall’s immediate task is to convince De Zerbi that he deserves more opportunities in a Tottenham shirt. His situation can be reassessed when the transfer window reopens in January, but for now he remains part of Spurs’ squad after Forest and Newcastle were unable to meet the club’s valuation.
