Aston Villa and Chelsea have been willing to pay £40m to sign Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall, making their first transfer moves in the January window.
Sportbladet report that both sides made approaches to Tottenham in the January window, which Spurs flat out refused.
Europe’s big clubs watching
According to Sportbladet’s information, several of Europe’s big clubs have the 20-year-old Tottenham midfielder on their radar.
His development at Tottenham over the past year have made him a player of interest, despite Spurs’ struggles.
Aston Villa and Chelsea are among those who are keen and wanted to buy the Sweden international in the January transfer window. They both informed Tottenham that they were keen to go ahead.
Both clubs were prepared to pay £40m for Lucas Bergvall at the time. But Tottenham ‘flatly refused’ their efforts or to start any negotiations regarding the Swede.
Relegation likely key
Their stance is unlikely to have changed yet, but relegation could be key. Spurs are firmly in a relegation battle, with just a point separating them from the bottom three.
If they drop to the Championship at the end of the season, a summer fire-sale is likely. Lucas Bergvall will be among those who are targeted.
Aston Villa and Chelsea have already shown a willingness to pay £40m, they’d likely be first in the queue in such a scenario. The Blues were already linked with a move in February.
And relegation to the Championship could force Tottenham’s hand. They’ll need to balance the books and reduce costs as much as possible.
For now, though, it seems Tottenham are resisting. They’ve already rejected efforts from their Premier League counterparts. Whether they can do so again in the summer will be determined by how well Roberto de Zerbi does in keeping them up.