EXCLUSIVE: Lucas Bergvall given clear Tottenham transfer instruction as Luka Modric point made
Tottenham star Lucas Bergvall has been linked with an exit from the club this summer but Jermaine Jenas does not want to see the midfielder leave
Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall has been urged to stay at the club this summer and challenge for a starting spot in Roberto De Zerbi's starting XI.
Spurs have signed Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes for a combined £185million this window, which could well impact Bergvall's minutes on the pitch during the 2026/27 season. The Sweden international informed Spurs that he wanted a fresh challenge earlier this summer, with the player now taking time to rest following his country's exit from the World Cup.
Tottenham are not looking to sell Bergvall this summer and believe he will get minutes this season, but that has not stopped interest from numerous clubs, with Nottingham Forest among the Swede's suitors.
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Jermaine Jenas, who made more than 200 appearances for Spurs, believes Bergvall's current situation is similar to the one Luka Modric encountered in 2008 due to the fact it's unclear what the youngster's best position is.
Speaking to football.london on behalf of 10bet, the home of football betting, Jenas said: "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."
Whatever happens between now and September 1, Spurs do not need to sell Bergvall due to the midfielder having five years left on his deal. Anything can happen in the transfer window, though, and Jenas insists it would be a "shame" if the Swede were to leave.
"I'd like to see him stay," the former midfielder said. "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."