Former Chelsea star Pat Nevin has opined that one Tottenham youngster has made an unexpected impact this season and has made himself an important player for Thomas Frank.
Going by Frank’s selections in the first few games of the season, it appeared that Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha and Pape Sarr were his preferred midfield options.
However, the Dane has been willing to rotate his options in midfield and attack, offering an opportunity for others to impress, and one man has grabbed them with both hands: Lucas Bergvall.
Thomas Frank has admitted that he loves Bergvall’s enthusiasm and his attitude, and one pundit believes it is going to be difficult for the Dane to drop the Swede.
Pat Nevin says Lucas Bergvall has made a big leap forward at Tottenham this season
Bergvall won all of Tottenham’s end-of-season awards last season, but that was perhaps down to the club’s injury crisis and the struggles of their main stars.
Pat Nevin believes that the Swede has been even better this season, stating that he has ‘made the biggest leap forward’ since Frank arrived through the door at N17.
The pundit wrote in his BBC Sport column: “Tottenham might just stay in the conversation this time. They dropped points at Brighton but were dominant on the day. They have their mojo back under Thomas Frank and, of the players he inherited, Lucas Bergvall has arguably made the biggest leap forward.
“Some players just need to know the manager believes in them to suddenly become an even better player and a more forceful presence. Spurs have won three and drawn one when Bergvall has started – losing the two when he did not.”
Players are in awe of Bergvall’s maturity
Following Tottenham’s win over Villarreal last week, Wayne Rooney admitted that he sometimes forgets just how young Bergvall is, given the tactical maturity he shows.
Something similar was also said by the 19-year-old’s Spurs teammate, Joao Palhinha, who admitted that he was shocked to learn Bergvall’s age.
According to reports, Barcelona are still gutted that they missed out to Tottenham in the race for Bergvall 18 months ago.