Newcastle United have reportedly made Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall their prime target to strengthen their midfield this summer.
The Magpies have been rocked this summer after losing Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes to Spurs and Arsenal, respectively, while Anthony Gordon, Kieran Trippier, and Eddie Howe have also all departed since the end of last season, with Matthias Jaissle stepping into the dugout.
The club had been looking at bringing the Sweden international into the club prior to Howe's departure, with a £46m bid rejected by the north London side, despite the player having asked to leave for more regular football elsewhere.
But after Howe departed St James' Park, there were question marks about whether they would continue to pursue their interest, while there were some suggestions that Roberto De Zerbi may have been able to convince him to stay until January.
However, according to The Sun, new boss Jaissle has come into Newcastle and has made the 20-year-old central midfielder a prime target to help with his midfield rebuild in this transfer window.
Tottenham are understood to value Bergvall in excess of £50m, and Newcastle must decide whether they will be willing to match that asking price to get a deal done, amid competition from the likes of Brighton and Nottingham Forest.
De Zerbi Wants Bergvall to Stay
Speaking earlier in the summer, De Zerbi made it clear that he wanted Bergvall to stay at the club, but also that he wouldn't stand in the Swede's way if he wanted to leave.
"I said 'Who doesn't want to stay in Tottenham, who is not happy, is not proud to stay here, has to leave'. I want proud players who are happy to stay here and to go on the pitch at Tottenham Stadium with a big motivation," he said.
"If you think also in the World Cup, the motivation makes the difference. The motivation is to be happy to stay in one team.
"I have not spoken with Lucas [Bergvall] yet, I will in the next days. And we will make the best decision for the club, for Lucas, for me, for every one of us. Without problems, Lucas is a big, big talent. There will be a big competition to play because, at the end, I think we will be two players for each position. If he wants to stay, I will be happy.
"Otherwise, we have to find a new solution with Johan Lange, with Vinai (Venkatesham). It's not my business after the decision to leave (if that happens)."
Since then, Bergvall has been a regular in pre-season, racking up 274 minutes across Tottenham's eight pre-season games. That was less than only eight other players.
Little Known Rule Plays Part in Deal
Newcastle's interest in Bergvall is long-standing this summer, and it has now emerged that they may have been forced to wait to push for his signing due to a little-known rule that has come into effect in this transfer window.
Under the newly enforced regulations from FIFA, if two clubs buy and sell from one another within a 45-day window, the transactions are officially classed as a 'swap deal' for accounting purposes. That will have had a big impact on Newcastle's books, considering they needed to sell to help balance them.
As of today (August 18), 43 days have passed since that deal went through, meaning the Magpies are all-but in the clear to get a deal done if they want to.