Tottenham Hotspur are bracing themselves for an improved club-record bid from Nottingham Forest for Lucas Bergvall, according to reports.
Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi faces a fight to hang onto the 20-year-old after splashing out £185 million on his new central midfield pairing of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. The duo's arrival has pushed Bergvall further down the pecking order and the Swede looks set to depart this summer.
Football.london understands Bergvall asked to leave the club as he wants a new challenge after watching his game time decline last season. The youngster signed a new contract in April 2025, which boosts Spurs' position at the negotiating table.
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The Telegraph report that Forest are now preparing a second bid worth £45m for Bergvall. The outlet reports Forest lodged an opening offer of around £38m last week, which was turned swiftly rebuffed by the north London club.
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Spurs' valuation is said to be closer to £50m, which would represent a huge profit on the initial £11m invested to bring Bergvall to the Premier League two years ago. However, they could be willing to let the midfielder leave for the right price.
Meeting that figure would represent a club-record fee for Forest, who set the bar when they captured Omari Hutchinson from Ipswich Town for £37.5m in 2025.
Forest have significant funds to spend to bolster Oliver Glasner's squad after selling Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for £116m, a British transfer record. They are looking to recruit a promising midfielder to fill the void left by Anderson and Bergvall is their top target.
And with the Anderson money set to be reinvested into the squad, Glasner may be able to get his man. He is looking to sign four new players this summer, with a centre-back also on his radar.
Bergvall joined Spurs from Djurgardens in 2024 after bursting onto the Swedish Allsvenskan scene at the age of 16. He has gone on to make 78 appearances for Spurs, scoring two goals and providing nine assists, but struggled to lock down a regular place in the team under Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank.
De Zerbi has made a concerted effort to convince Bergvall to remain at the club following his return from international duty with Sweden at the World Cup. But with no guarantee of first-team football, he looks set to head for the exit - providing a club is willing to meet Spurs' valuation.
In addition to his new signings, De Zerbi has Pape Matar Sarr, Conor Gallagher and Archie Gray able to fill into central midfield. That means Bergvall will face rife competition for a place in the first team, with Spurs not in Europe next season after finishing 17th.
If Spurs do end up extracting their desired fee for the highly-rated Swede, it could enable De Zerbi to land his top target. The Italian boss is keen on signing Junior Kroupi from Bournemouth this summer, but the Cherries are demanding around £100m to sell the talented forward.
Spurs have already spent £227m on Tonali, Fernandes and centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke, while selling Luka Vuskovic to Brighton for £46m. Offloading Bergvall would once again boost their coffers and represent a significant profit on the balance sheet, potentially giving them the green light to pursue a record deal for Kroupi.