Jermaine Jenas has reacted to reports linking Lucas Bergvall with a move away from Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
Sources indicate that the 20-year-old Spurs star remains keen on a fresh challenge away from N17. This is despite the fact that Tottenham have informed Bergvall that he is a key part of their project.
Some reports suggest that even though Spurs have maintained that the midfielder is not for sale, the Lilywhites would be happy to sell Bergvall to the highest bidder this summer, as they look to recoup some funds to offset their big summer spending.
However, one former Tottenham star believes that the midfielder’s struggle to fulfil his potential may not be entirely his fault.
Lucas Bergvall backed to follow in Luka Modric’s footsteps at Tottenham
Jenas has now suggested that the former Djugardens man’s main issue at Tottenham may be that he is being played out of position.
The pundit pointed to how his former teammate Luka Modric thrived at N17 after being moved into a deeper midfield role, and suggested that the Swede could have a similar rise.
When asked about the speculation linking Bergvall with a move away from Tottenham, Jenas told Football.London: “It’s a tricky one, Lucas. It reminds me a little bit of Luka Modric when Luka arrived at the football club. I feel like with Luka, we didn’t quite know where to play him at that particular time when he arrived. Because when he arrived, he was so slight as a player—unbelievable on the ball—but I think everybody’s assumption was that he was like a number 10.
“As the weeks went by, it took Harry Redknapp’s experience and trust to look at him and go, ‘You know what, he’s a centre-midfield player and he can mix it in there. I can trust him there.’ Because in the Premier League, it’s so athletic and you’ve got to be so strong and so fit in the middle of the park.
“I think we always make that mistake in England, assuming that, actually, when you put ball players in there, they know how to deal with the game in that centre-midfield area. And Bergvall has just fallen into that bracket of: where do you play him?
“Is he more of where Martin Odegaard plays for Arsenal, or is he a deeper-lying midfield player? Is he more of a 6 or an 8? “I’ve seen him do them all and he does them well. He’s also very young, so he’s going to have those kind of up-and-down moments, but the one thing he hasn’t really managed to do is just hold down a spot.”
Jenas wants Spurs to keep Bergvall
The Sweden international’s concern regarding game time is understandable given that he started just one of the seven league games under De Zerbi last season, and has seen Tottenham shell out £185m on two new midfielders.
However, Jenas admitted that he wants to see his former club persevere with the 20-year-old.
The former England international added: “I’d like to see him stay. I think he’s a very good young talent, and wherever he goes if he does leave… from what I remember, Barcelona were massively interested in him before he came to Tottenham.
“I would assume that is still of interest from their point of view because he’s so young. But yeah, it’d be a shame to see him go, I suppose is what I’m saying. But he didn’t really get the game time that I expected him to get under De Zerbi.”