While the current Premier League campaign has been one of misery for Tottenham Hotspur fans, the Europa League final and a potential spot in next season’s Champions League offers the chance to end on a major high.
Looking for other positives from the season is more of a challenge given the fact that Spurs could yet finish just one place above the relegation zone, something that a club of Spurs’ stature, with the resources and infrastructure, should not be delivering. Next year they face a real battle to get back to competitive success to ensure that their position as one of the so-called ‘big six’ doesn’t become challenged.
Recruitment at Spurs in recent seasons has come under scrutiny, with some big-money signings not delivering the return on the investment that was expected, with Richarlison being a case in point.
Finding players at the right price point, of the right profile, with a high ceiling for growth is important for any club wishing to work the transfer market effectively, and while those additions have been in short supply at Spurs, the addition of Swedish teenager Lucas Bergvall last summer was an important one.
Bergvall arrived from Djurgarden as an 18-year-old last summer in an £8.5m deal. The midfielder has this season gone on to establish himself in the Spurs first team, making 45 appearances in all competitions, netting once.
His exposure to Premier League football and European football, showcasing his talent and skill set despite a challenging season has given some reason for hope moving forward as he continues to develop and improve. It has also provided a major boost to his valuation, which while Spurs fans won’t want to consider the prospect of selling him, shows the direction the club should be following in the Premier League. After such a poor campaign, maybe rebuilding in this manner may offer a greater chance of success in the years to come.
Bergvall, who turned 19 in February and signed a contract extension at Spurs in April that runs until 2031, has seen a huge increase in his value over the last year. Arriving for £8.5m, analysts at CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland have pegged his current market value at €55.4m (£46.7m), a rise of £37.6m, up 449% since his signing. That is a huge mark-up in such a short space of time, and one that places him ninth on the overall list of players who have seen the biggest capital gains since moving to a new club over the past 12 months.
The statistical model adopted by CIES to reach their findings included a number of variables, including; contract, age, sporting level, domestic minutes, international minutes, goals, results, starting 11, position, international status, releasing club selling potential, releasing league selling potential, destination club buying potential and destination league buying potential.
Other players to appear in the top 10 included Kylian Mbappe, Dean Huijsen, Michael Olise, Savinho and Desire Doue.