Lucas Bergvall recently topped the Tottenham headlines by requesting a transfer away to try and secure guaranteed gametime. But with recent reports indicating that the hierarchy is unwilling to sanction a permanent transfer, the club and player are left in an impasse.
With Spurs losing one of the best European centre-back prospects in Luka Vuskovic in a £50 million move to Brighton, the club are seemingly trying to avoid a mass exodus of their best young players by blocking a possible move for Lucas Bergvall.
Earlier in the transfer window, Bergvall informed the club of his desire to find a move away from Tottenham to try and secure consistent starting minutes, a guarantee that Roberto De Zerbi was unwilling to give to the young Swede, expecting him to fight for his place in the team instead.
Likewise, Bergvall’s camp views a transfer from Spurs as a last resort if their play-time demands are not met, leaving both the player and the club in a stalemate.
Tottenham’s massive money midfield incomings in Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes could make first-team minutes even more difficult to come by for Bergvall, which makes his position entirely understandable.
However, losing yet another one of your top prospects – a Premier League-proven player that swept your Player of the Year awards in his debut season and was disproportionately affected last season by being mis-profiled by the worst manager in Tottenham’s history – would seem like mismanagement of the highest order and something the club should avoid at all costs.
Why is Lucas Bergvall’s future at Tottenham under threat?
The obvious best-case scenario for Tottenham in the Lucas Bergvall situation is for the player to stay at Tottenham and learn under Roberto De Zerbi.
Since coming in Roberto De Zerbi has been very vocal about his appreciation for Bergvall’s talent. But, perhaps due to the enormous stakes in Tottenham’s end-of-season relegation-defining run-in, De Zerbi chose to rely on the most experienced players in the squad, leading to reduced gametime for Bergvall.
Bergvall only started a single game for the Italian manager, the 1-0 away loss to Sunderland, which was also his first game in charge. De Zerbi gave Bergvall a chance to prove himself with a few off-the-bench cameos, with Bergvall admittedly making a positive impact in some of them, like winning the ball back for Xavi Simons’ stunner in the home game against Brighton.
But Bergvall doesn’t truly fit the mould of a Roberto De Zerbi midfielder. The Swede’s game in his best position as a box-to-box midfielder revolves around taking lots of touches, taking players on and being adventurous and risky with his runs and while in possession.
During his career De Zerbi seemingly favoured midfielders that take care of the ball and take responsibility for it, and also prefers players technically sound enough to play quick passes and interchanges with minimal touches. It’s fair to say that neither of these are Bergvall’s best qualities and, if anything, are one of the bigger flaws in his game.
This is also why a season with Roberto De Zerbi could end up being incredibly beneficial for Lucas Bergvall’s development. De Zerbi is one of the best coaches in the world and would absolutely improve the midfielder if given the chance and sufficient time.
But if Bergvall feels like he won’t have a chance to compete for first team minutes, what can be done to find a solution for Bergvall?
Finding a suitable solution for Lucas Bergvall?
With the player camp adamant about consistent gametime and the club unable to give such guarantees while at the same time unwilling to part with the midfielder, a loan move remains as the most suitable compromise for both parties.
Bergvall remains an incredibly talented player and could be a valuable addition for many of the best teams across Europe.
By going out on loan, Bergvall could secure the desired playing time, and the club would protect its long-term interest by holding on to the midfielder for another year and potentially giving him a chance to come back and fight for his place next season.
So what kind of loan would be best for Bergvall?
Although Bergvall has been linked to a move to Nottingham Forest, who view him as a possible replacement for Elliot Anderson, it’s difficult to say if Forest would consider a straight loan move to develop a player of a Premier League rival.
The kind of football Lucas Bergvall would be expected to play under Oliver Glasner would hardly challenge Bergvall enough to improve the weaker sides of his game. Oliver Glasner’s teams rarely play a possession-heavy style of football and rely on transitional moments to create their chances.
This also applies to an extent to other, smaller teams in the Premier League, where he might indeed be guaranteed playtime at the expense of playing possession-based football.
From Tottenham’s perspective, the right kind of move for Bergvall is also the one that develops his most and makes him more suitable to Roberto De Zerbi’s long-term plans
This would likely mean that the right kind of club for Lucas Bergvall is one that seeks to control possession and is one of the dominant sides in its domestic league. The midfielder should ideally arrive in a setup that would challenge him to a sufficient level and allow him to work on the biggest flaws in his game, his technicality, touch and short passing.
One such destination could be Francesco Farioli’s Porto FC in the Portuguese league. Farioli, a Roberto De Zerbi understudy, plays a similar brand of football to De Zerbi. With the lower levels of athleticism in the Portuguese league, Lucas Bergvall would immediately become one of the standout athletic profiles while playing in a system that challenges him to alter his game.
Cesc Fabregas’ Como also comes to mind. Como are about to play their first-ever season in a European competition, and with a relatively small squad, they would surely appreciate a talented player with two European campaigns behind his belt.
Those are, of course, just two of the countless other destinations that Tottenham’s analytics departments would be considering if Lucas Bergvall can be convinced to go out on loan.
Going out on loan might not be the ideal outcome for Bergvall who might want clarity on his immediate future, and it would likely take some convincing and perhaps a new bumper contract. But if the long-term future of the club is not secured and Spurs end up losing their biggest talents, they’ll inevitably end up in a massive mess again.
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