Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that Lucas Bergvall will be given another chance to impress for Tottenham against Charlton Athletic, despite his poor display against Brentford.
Tottenham Hotspur were brought back to earth on the opening weekend of the Premier League season when they took on Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Bees, who were gunning for a European place last season, showed their class and thumped Spurs 3-0, leaving the Lilywhites second from bottom in the Premier League table.
It could have been even worse, but Igor Thiago’s second-half missed penalty spared Tottenham’s blushes.
Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi gives Lucas Bergvall verdict after Brentford struggles
It was a poor first-half display from the Lilywhites, who found themselves two goals down, with several players failing to reach the required level.
Lucas Bergvall was one such star, with the Sweden international at fault for Brentford’s second of the day after failing to win a fifty-fifty duel.
After a disappointing opening period, Bergvall was taken off, with Roberto De Zerbi opting to bring on £85 million (€100 million) signing Mateus Fernandes.
De Zerbi has now opened up on the Swede’s performance ahead of Tottenham’s Carabao Cup clash against Charlton Athletic.
The Italian revealed to football.london that Bergvall was aware he had been poor on the day. He said: “I hug him and he knows. He already knows he didn’t play a great game. But this game for Bergvall, Gray, Mathys Tel, also Mikey Moore, is the right step to become better and better.
“Because you want the young players on the pitch yes but the young players they have not experienced. What is their experience? To explain the experience you have to pass through this day and these types of games. You have to lose or be stronger the next time you play one game like Brentford. It’s a normal step.
“Maybe one or two together is better than four together but I know the reason because Bentancur came the first week of August, Mateus Fernandes suffered an injury, Pedro Porro was an injury, but all together it’s tough as a game.
“But when I said I am calm and positive it’s not because the coach has to say it’s positive. No, because it’s not the Tottenham true yet. We have to find the conditions to become a team quickly and we started the project right now. Not last season. Last season we fought to stay up and this season has started and to become better is not like this (clicks fingers).
“Maybe, I hope, I want, I’m working for that but to become a team is different. We have to work in the connections, in the relationships, in the style of play, to find a soul as a team and we didn’t show any of these characteristics on Saturday.”
Bergvall must seize his chance as Spurs competition intensifies
Bergvall was pushing for a move away from Tottenham earlier this summer following the signings of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
However, that now looks to be behind the 20-year-old, whom De Zerbi has confirmed is 100 per cent staying at Spurs this season.
But Bergvall is not guaranteed minutes and will have to earn a place in the starting XI given the competition in midfield.
It does appear that the Tottenham boss is set to give him another chance to prove himself in the game against Charlton Athletic, and that is an opportunity the Swede must grab firmly.