Tottenham Hotspur are making a late attempt to prevent midfield target Lucas Bergvall from joining Barcelona instead, according to reports.
Bergvall is a big prospect who has attracted attention from various clubs thanks to his progress with Djurgardens in his native Sweden. Even before his breakthrough at senior level, Manchester United took a close look at him.
More recently, Bergvall has become a target for Tottenham, but they are trying to convince him to choose them over Barcelona, who have also put a lot of work into offering him the next step.
Barcelona have succeeded with an offer of €6m (£5.1m) plus €3m (£2.6m) in bonuses to Djurgardens, according to Sport.
However, it is now over to other clubs like Tottenham to make their last-ditch attempts to hijack the move.
The report claims Tottenham are able to offer Djurgardens a higher transfer fee and Bergvall a better salary than Barcelona can.
Other clubs willing to do the same include Serie A giants Inter Milan and Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.
The problem for all of them, Tottenham included, is that Bergvall’s preference is to join Barcelona.
He has already visited their facilities recently, although Tottenham have also invited him to their own training ground, as confirmed by Expressen and Football Insider.
Spurs’ efforts seem to be in vain, but there is still time for them to change Bergvall’s mind, even if the chances seem slim at this stage.
Bergvall making big strides
A couple of days away from his 18th birthday, Bergvall has already made 29 appearances – usually as a central midfielder, but sometimes in a holding role or even up front once – for Djurgardens, scoring three goals.
Before that, he appeared 12 times for IF Brommapojkarna and scored once.
Bergvall recently earned his senior debut at international level for Sweden in a friendly against Estonia.
His contract with Djurgarden is due to run until the end of December 2025, but a big move is likely to happen before then.
Tottenham have been investing in their future recently, wrapping up future deals for young talents like Luka Vuskovic, a 16-year-old centre-back who will join them from Hajduk Split in 2025 once he reaches adulthood.
Barcelona also have an eye to the long-term as well, eager to attract talents of the future before their values escalate out of reach amid their financial difficulties.
For example, Barcelona signed 18-year-old striker Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense earlier this month.
Bergvall is the next youngster they are trying to bring in and it could lead to the conclusion that Tottenham don’t want.
