Newcastle may have been forced to postpone their pursuit of Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall due to a little-known FIFA rule.
Bergvall’s future has continued to be the subject of much speculation, even though the midfielder has featured prominently in pre-season and has delivered outstanding performances in the club’s recent friendlies.
Reports indicate that the Swede still has doubts over getting regular game time at Tottenham during the upcoming season, and is thus exploring other opportunities.
It emerged a couple of days ago that Newcastle are continuing to consider a late move for Bergvall after launching a couple of enquiries for the 20-year-old this summer.
Newcastle may be waiting for Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall
GiveMeSport have now confirmed that Magpies’ interest in the Spurs midfielder has been long-standing, and they reveal that the club may have been forced to halt their pursuit of the player due to a little-known rule.
Under new regulations enforced by FIFA this summer, if two clubs buy and sell with one another within a 45-day window, the transactions are officially considered a ‘swap deal’ for accounting purposes.
That will have a big impact on Newcastle’s books as the club needed the £100m Spurs paid for Sandro Tonali to balance their books.
As a result, they have been waiting for the window to lapse, with August 20 having been the 45th day since Tonali’s move to Tottenham officially went through.
That means that Newcastle could now be free to push ahead with a move for the Spurs midfielder in the final week and a half of the transfer window.
Nottingham Forest also remain interested in Bergvall
Despite starting each of Spurs’ last four friendlies in his preferred central midfield role, journalist Pete O’Rourke has said that Bergvall’s desire to leave Tottenham has not changed.
This is because the youngster believes that he can get a more prominent role at another Premier League club than he would at Tottenham under Roberto De Zerbi.
Newcastle are not the only English club after the midfielder, with Nottingham Forest continuing to keep their eye on Bergvall’s situation after seeing their offer rejected earlier in the window.
It has been alleged that Oliver Glasner is a big fan of the 20-year-old and is driving the Midlands club’s pursuit of the midfielder.