Football London

The rapid ascent of Lucas Bergvall in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt means the Premier League club are going to have to pay out more quickly for his transfer than expected.

Spurs signed the then 18-year-old for £8.5million from Djurgarden, seeing off Barcelona with a deal in February that brought him to north London in the summer. Bergvall took a few months to settle into the rhythm of the Premier League but once he found it he became a key player in the side.

The injuries at the club ensured he got plenty of game time and in all made 45 appearances under Ange Postecoglou with 2,334 minutes to his name, with one goal against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg as well as four assists across all competitions.

Bergvall suffered an ankle injury on the eve of the Europa League semi-final first leg against Bodo/Glimt which ended his season, but the teenager had more than played his part in that competition before Spurs went on to lift the trophy. The 19-year-old also swept the Tottenham supporters' awards for player and young player of the season and earned a bumper new contract until 2031 with the north London club.

Now Djurgarden sporting director Bosse Andersson has confirmed to Swedish media outlet Fotbollskanalen that Bergvall's remarkable season has resulted in him activating all of the options in his transfer to Tottenham already, meaning the Allsvenskan club get the full windfall from his sale straight away.

"I can confirm that all the bonus parts that are included have clicked in," he said. "Lucas has had such a breakthrough both in the Premier League and in Europe and has been involved in so many games. We can see that what we thought would take several years has happened very quickly."

Andersson believes it is the most expensive sale of a player from the Allsvenskan but when it was put to him about reports that it might cost £17million in all, he said: "I think you're mixing apples and oranges there, but there's no question that it's an extremely large transfer, thanks to the bonus part."

Bergvall's boyhood club Brommapojkarna will also get a slice of the transfer fee, having developed the youngster before his move to Djurgarden about 18 months ahead of the switch to Spurs.

"Djurgarden and BP have had a very nice and successful project together and I am incredibly grateful to BP and the Bergvall family for the trust we received from them," said Andersson.

"We are extremely proud of Lucas, a player who is unique and loves to take his place. He has put himself on the map with all the impressions he has made in the Premier League. It is both a sporting legend and at the same time a purely financial legend for all parties. We are happy to share the pie with BP. They get a very nice cake too."

An update has emerged about Eberechi Eze's future at Crystal Palace amid continued rumours of a potential summer transfer.

Eze played a key role in helping Palace win the FA Cup this season, scoring the winning goal in the final at Wembley Stadium in the 1-0 victory against Manchester City.

The England international's future has been the subject of intense speculation for the last couple of years, with a host of clubs apparently interested in his signature.

Tottenham Hotspur have been mentioned as potential suitors for Eze, particularly after the club qualified for the Champions League with their victory in the Europa League final.

Manchester United and Manchester City have also been linked with Eze in the past, now a fresh update about the playmaker's future.

The Mirror have reported that Bayern Munich have now joined the race to sign Eze. Crucially, the report goes on to reveal the that the Palace star will have a release clause in his contract which will come into effect this summer.

The clause is reported to be worth a total of £68million, which includes £8million worth of add-ons.

The clause will reportedly expire two weeks before the summer transfer window closes, with deadline day pencilled in for September 1.

It remains to be seen what the future will hold for Eze, with the Palace star looking ahead to featuring for England under new manager Thomas Tuchel.

Eze was named in the Three Lions squad which will face Andorra in a World Cup qualifier and Senegal in an international friendly, with both matches taking place next month.

You wait 17 years for an open-topped bus in Tottenham and then potentially three come at once with spin-off matches from the Europa League triumph.

Ange Postecoglou led his Spurs players to their first European trophy in 41 years as they beat Manchester United in Bilbao. That achievement not only unlocked Champions League qualification for next season for the north London side but it also handed them a spot in the UEFA Super Cup in Udine in August where Tottenham will take on either PSG or Inter after those two teams meet to decide this weekend's Champions League final.

There was previously another potential cup to be won in the past with the UEFA-CONMEBOL Club Challenge in the fixture calendar. The competition was launched in 2023 for the Europa League and Sudamericana winners to play each other as part of a renewed partnership between UEFA and CONMEBOL.

The game that year saw Sevilla triumph against Ecuador's Independiente del Valle on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville on July 19.

The event was a successor to the Supercopa Euroamericana, which ran in 2015 and 2016, with Sevilla losing to River Plate and then beating Santa Fe the next year in matches that were technically classified as friendlies. The annual game was cancelled the following year though following the crash that killed most of the Chapecoense squad on their way to the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana finals.

The current Sudamericana champions are Argentinean side Racing Club, who ended their own 36-year wait for a continental trophy, and reports in that country suggest their club president Diego Milito, the former Inter striker, has opened talks over reviving the UEFA-CONMEBOL Club Challenge to take on Tottenham, with a game in Argentina or the United States mooted.

The main problem, and why such a fixture is believed to be unlikely at this point according to those within UEFA, is finding the time in the packed calendar - with new expanded UEFA competitions - and that is the reason why the UEFA-CONMEBOL Club Challenge did not take place last year because there was no room for a game between Atalanta and Ecuador's Liga de Quito.

All eyes are on whether Racing can get anywhere with their proposals for a game against Tottenham but time and the schedule does not appear to be on their side.

Tottenham coach Sergio Raimundo did not hang around after the Europa League triumph as he had to be back in the classroom the very next day after landing.

The 40-year-old assistant coach joined Spurs last summer alongside Nick Montgomery, with the duo having worked together at both Hibernian in Scotland and Central Coast Mariners in Australia. Both men played their part in Tottenham's European triumph - the club's first in 41 years - to help Ange Postecoglou's side lift the trophy.

However, there was to be no resting on his laurels for Raimundo as the Portuguese had to get home and jump straight on a flight to Ireland to continue his UEFA Pro Diploma course studies with the Irish FA at a session where Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill was speaking.

Raimundo, who speaks six different languages, missed the club's parade of the Europa League trophy through the streets of N17 in front of an estimated 220,000 fans because of his commitment to the course.

In a video from the session, the manager of Northern Irish Premiership team Crusaders, Declan Caddell, spoke of his surprise at seeing Raimundo at the event when "in his shoes I wouldn't be here, I'd still be celebrating but that's the calibre of coaches on this course".

Raimundo himself said: "The coaching course changed my life. I started here even before the C lessons, with the youth lessons. At the time Portugal wasn't doing any courses for three years. I've met a lot of great people on the course, one of them was Nick Montgomery. He took me to Australian in 2019 and since then we've been working together.

"We have a journey together in Australia where we were champions together of the U20s, the reserve league and then the A League. We went together at Hibs and now find ourselves together at Tottenham as well.

"It's been a fantastic experience, learning and listening from the best in the business [on this course]. [O'Neill] spoke to us a bit about the challenges of coaching and the staff roles and how to overcome some struggles, because you have positive moments in our jobs but you also have moments where you struggle and you have to overcome them. He gave us some tips to navigate through those times."

Raimundo and Tottenham certainly managed to navigate through the struggles of this season to create a piece of history in north London.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust have called upon the club to make "more robust investment in transfers and wages to fully support the manager and compete on all fronts" as well as senior figures being more visible to fans.

Spurs ended their season on a high with Ange Postecoglou leading the club to its first trophy in 17 years as the team won the Europa League in Bilbao by beating Manchester United. Two days later came an open-top bus parade to show off Tottenham's first piece of European silverware in 41 years and an estimated 220,000 people turned out on the streets of N17 to celebrate.

While the north London outfit also reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, they struggled in the Premier League through a combination of an injury crisis midway through the campaign, a number of poor performances and then Postecoglou prioritising the Europa League in the final months of the season. The team finished 17th and also went out in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Now the supporters' trust have released their end of season statement which includes what went well within the club in their dealings with the fans and what they would like to see improve.

On what went well, the trust statement mentioned three key areas. The first was consultation and pricing, which included regular consultation with the Trust leading to a freeze on season and matchday ticket prices, reversing the ban on new senior concession season tickets - with some limitations - and reinstating the popular auto cup renewal scheme after overwhelming fan feedback.

Then there was governance and values, with the club agreeing to the 'Five Principles for Owners' to "protect the unique relationship between the club and its fans" as well as introducing a touching memorial video to "honour deceased members of the Spurs Family".

The final section of what went well was ticket integrity as the trust pointed out that the club targeted misuse of resale sites for key games (e.g. Manchester Utd and Liverpool) by enforcing ticket ownership rules and there was reduced pricing for most home Europa League and Carabao Cup games following Trust input.

The trust also praised the club's collaborations around the Europa League final, including the ticket pricing, TIFOs, giving the fans special scarves and flags in the latter rounds, the FanZone in Bilbao, the stadium screening of the final, it's media content of the event and the parade on Friday, including adjusting the timing to enable broader participation.

When it came to items for improvement there were seven different areas stated for next season.

The first was squad investment with "more robust investment in transfers and wages needed to fully support the manager and compete on all fronts" and when it comes to chairman Daniel Levy and the club hierarchy, greater leadership communication, with the statement making it clear that "the manager should not be the sole club spokesperson - greater visibility and support from senior figures are essential".

When it comes to affordability and fairness, the trust wants the club to recognise the financial burden on fans, especially those who travel extensively, ensure fair distribution of away tickets and proper use of the loyalty point system and implement rolling QR codes to prevent away fans in home areas.

There is also the area of concessions with the trust wanting Spurs to restore concessions for all cup games, allow concession ticket purchases via Ticket Exchange for children, young adults, and seniors and expand senior concession season tickets to all eligible fans. The trust also wants the club to reverse or mitigate the limitation restricting Ticket Share to members only.

While the trophy parade itself was praised, the statement urged that the club "address reports of crowding and safety concerns during the victory parade".

Finally with the lap of appreciation after the final game of the season, the trust would like Spurs to "allocate sufficient time and space for fans in all stands to be properly acknowledged before players’ families join".

In signing off, the trust said: "We promise to continue as a critical friend, ensuring fans remain central to all club decisions, because as we all know—football, without fans, is nothing."

Premier League clubs will now be making plans for the 2025/26 season following the conclusion of the current campaign. It proved to be a memorable one for Tottenham in regards to Europe as they ended their silverware drought by winning the Europa League trophy at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao.

In the league, however, Spurs finished 17th and there is plenty of work to be done as they look to make big improvements domestically from August onwards. Sunday marks the start of June and the opening of a mini transfer window due to the upcoming 2025 Club World Cup.

All Premier League and EFL clubs will be able to conclude transfer business up until Tuesday, June 10, with the window then reopening on Monday, June 16 until Monday, September 1. The beginning of June does mean that a handful of Tottenham players will enter the final month of their contract.

As things stand right now, six players will be free to leave on July 1 unless there is a change between now and then. Here we take a look at the six decisions Tottenham need to make before the end of June:

Ben Davies

Ben Davies' current contract expires at the end of June and question marks surround whether he will be a Tottenham player or not next season. Back in November, football.london reported that Spurs had decided to take up a one-year extension option on the Welshman's contract, keeping him in N17 for the 2025/26 campaign.

However, the lack of official confirmation from the club regarding Davies' future has left things up in the air. If his contract remains the same then he will be a free agent come July 1.

Sergio Reguilon

Sergio Reguilon will have the opportunity to get his career back on track in the summer as his Tottenham deal comes to an end. The Spaniard was not in Ange Postecoglou's thinking this season but he still made six appearances in all competitions and came away with a Europa League winners' medal.

It's a fairly simple decision when it comes to Reguilon's future.

Fraser Forster

The time is also right for Tottenham and Fraser Forster to go their separate ways. The shot-stopper has served Spurs so well over the past three seasons but he is now 37 years of age and Tottenham are planning for the future.

Antonin Kinsky jumped ahead of him in the pecking order following his January transfer and Brandon Austin also leapfrogged the veteran goalkeeper in what remained of the season.

Alfie Whiteman

Alfie Whiteman is at the age where he really needs to be playing regular first-team football after only making one senior Tottenham appearance. The academy graduate has a real lack of experience to his name due to a lack of time on loan and that needs addressing.

It looks a fairly straightforward decision for Whiteman if he wants to play week in, week out rather than watching from the stands.

Mathys Tel

Mathys Tel's Tottenham loan deal expires at the end of June and Bayern Munich would no doubt prefer a quick decision when it comes to their player. As part of the loan agreement between the sides, Tottenham can sign the highly-rated attacker permanently for £45.7million with a six-year contract already agreed.

A decision on Tel's Tottenham future may well rest on what comes next for Postecoglou amid so much uncertainty surrounding his position right now. Ahead of Tottenham's final game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion, football.london asked the head coach if he wants to sign the versatile attacker on a permanent basis.

"I guess they're the kind of discussions that we start to need to have," said the Australian in his pre-match press conference. "But again, without myself gate-crashing meetings, I need to be invited to them, but we'll assess all those things. Matty's done really well for us. We put him in a real difficult position in that as a young player who hadn't played a lot, probably wasn't fit enough, we just threw him straight in but he's handled it really well.

"I think he's been a real important contributor for us and he'll definitely play tomorrow at some point whether he starts or come off the bench. I'm sure those decisions we'll kind of look into post-season."

Timo Werner

Timo Werner is another loan player who will soon see his time at Tottenham come to an end. The former Chelsea man did make an impact in his time with the club during the second half of the 2023/24 season but the same cannot be said about this term.

It's a straightforward decision for Tottenham and it will ultimately see Werner return to parent club RB Leipzig.

Tottenham will be keen to confirm some huge transfer decisions early into the summer window with the (initial) trading period closing after just 10 days because of the Club World Cup.

With Champions League qualification for next season secured, Spurs are in need of a blockbuster summer to add needed depth in order to compete in several competitions. Other than the addition of a No.6, there is no obvious positions that desperately must be strengthened.

Finances picked up, and allure of Champions League football, should make the club target an elite-level attacking signing, however. Potential exits could also impact recruitment with Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero linked to Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, respectively.

With that said, football.london has taken a closer look at three deals that Spurs can complete from the moment the summer transfer window opens;

Mathys Tel

Regardless of what Tottenham's summer plans end up being, a decision must first be made on Mathys Tel. Having joined on loan from Bayern Munich in January, Spurs must choose whether to either activate their £45million buy-option in that deal or turn that down and send him back to Germany.

With the upcoming trading period about to open, Spurs could hypothetically sign him as soon as they are able to do so.

Given what he has shown during these last four months, the Frenchman has not quite justified that amount being spent on acquiring his services on a permanent basis. If Spurs can negotiate a lower fee, it is a deal worth pursuing with it clear the 20-year-old has bags of potential.

Leroy Sane

Another winger on the books at Bayern is also of interest to Tottenham with Leroy Sane - potentially - set for a move when his current contract expires on June 30.

As has been evidenced by Jorginho joining Flamengo before his Arsenal deal expires, plus Real Madrid's desire to get Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his Liverpool contract so he can play in the Club World Cup, there is a way that Spurs can snap-up Sane before the end of next month.

Bayern being in the tournament over in the United States could also make them keen to part ways if Sane turns down any further contract offers.

Kevin Danso

Tel's situation is somewhat similar to the one involving fellow January arrival, Kevin Danso, however the £20.9m (€25m) clause included in that loan move must be activated at the end of the season.

That is because Spurs agreed to sign him permanently from Lens with an obligation-to-buy placed in that move to ensure it is completed.

The Austria international has impressed during his appearances thus far for Tottenham and, therefore, it is unlikely they will have any issue paying that fee for a more than capable centre-back.

Tottenham Hotspur managed to salvage their season last week when they lifted the Europa League trophy, securing lucrative Champions League football in the process.

A 1-0 success over Manchester United in Bilbao managed to book what had appeared to be an unlikely slot in European football’s top tier club knockout competition for next season given the dismal nature of the domestic campaign, where Spurs finished the season one place above the drop zone.

But success in Spain has given Spurs access to a prize fund worth up to £120m next season, and guaranteed them revenues of some £60m when including the four home games that they will at least get to host for sell-out crowds at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The win has changed what Spurs are able to do in the market, not least from a cashflow point of view with the club’s weighty transfer debt (£337m) and limited amount coming in in terms of transfer receivables (£58m) meaning that they would have had to player trade this summer, even though they have little to be concerned about when it comes to profit and sustainability rules headroom.

The revenues on offer next season will be impactful, but it won’t be completely transformational for Spurs given that their dire performance in the Premier League this season means that they are some £34m back on where they were this time 12 months ago.

In 2023/24 Spurs finished fifth. For that they received £164.6m in central payments from the Premier League.

The financial success of the Premier League is built largely on the enormous TV deal that they have in place both domestically and internationally, worth £12bn over four years. Much of that sum is is filtered down to clubs through equal share payments from both markets, merit payments from both markets based upon where they finish the season, commercial revenue and facilities fees, which is how many times clubs feature in live TV broadcasts from the three UK broadcasters, which are Sky Sports, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video.

Last year, Spurs featured 28 times, the joint third-highest alongside Manchester City and Manchester United. This past year it has been 24 times, three times less than Aston Villa and behind seven teams.

Facilities fees fell by £3.3m to £21.1m for the year, but the drop in merit payments is significant, falling to £11.4m from £45.1m, a drop of £33.7m. The equal share from the international market is to jump around £2m, so with that accounted for the past season’s struggles in the Premier League have cost Spurs around £34m year-on-year.

That loss already eats into what Spurs have got coming from the Champions League next season, although it does fall in the current financial year. It will be budgeted for longer term, though, and that means that the club may have to be a little more mindful in the market than if they were to be heading into it having secured the same league placing as last year, with Newcastle United having taken that spot this year and earned Champions League qualification from a stronger position.

The importance of Tottenham's historic Europa League triumph has already been showcased with concrete links to Leroy Sane emerging.

Though there is no guarantee Ange Postecoglou is even at the club next season, Champions League football will definitely be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the next nine months. As a result of that, regardless of their horrendous domestic campaign, players will be interested in moving to Spurs.

A defensive midfield signing should be the absolute priority but Tottenham must also take advantage of this unique opportunity and add an elite-level attacker to their squad.

Eberechi Eze is one dream target with the attacking midfielder key to Crystal Palace's FA Cup triumph. There have also been links to Bryan Mbeumo, Jamie Gittens and Rayan Cherki with it likely all three depart Brentford, Borussia Dortmund and Lyon, respectively, this summer.

The latest rumour is that Tottenham could sign Sane from Bayern Munich with the player also open to a north London switch. Having won trophies in Germany and at Manchester City, the 29-year-old could be the signing that takes Spurs up a level.

With his future at Bayern uncertain, after he chose to turn down their latest new contract proposal, Bild have claimed his agent has held talks with Arsenal and Chelsea but that Spurs are currently the 'hottest club' in the potential race for his signature.

Having played on the left and right flank, he will also bring needed versatility to the Lilywhites, but there are a number of issues that could prevent a deal from happening. Unsurprisingly, the first of those is to do with finances.

If he departs Bavaria as a free agent, Tottenham will not have to pay a transfer fee but with that potentially comes a signing-on bonus. Sane is said to currently earn around £12.5million per year and considering the fact he rejected an improved three-year deal, Spurs would likely have to pay him upwards of £280k-per-week.

That is a hugely significant amount of funds that will be committed to one player and it does risk hampering the club's entire wage structure. Potential new signings and important stars at the club would undoubtedly point to that when in contract negotiations.

The uncertain future of Postecoglou and the club's overall struggles last season are other factors that could see Sane swerve a move to Spurs.

However, if there is a way in which Tottenham can bring down those personal terms, it is an excellent market opportunity that the club may not have again.

Tottenham first-team coach Ryan Mason has emerged as a target for West Brom as they look to permanently replace Tony Mowbray.

The Championship side have been on the hunt for a new manager since Mowbray was dismissed on April 21 and it's said the club now want to hold talks with Mason over the role. Mason is West Brom's No.1 target, according to The Telegraph, and an official approach to Tottenham is expected in the next 48 hours.

Highly rated coach Mason held talks with Belgian club Anderlecht in October before a mutual decision was made to remain at Spurs, which enabled the 33-year-old to play his part in the club’s Europa League success last week. The Lilywhites’ rollercoaster 2024-25 campaign only ended on Sunday and it's understood the majority of the coaching staff, including Ange Postecoglou, have now gone off on their holidays.

After two previous caretaker stints across a seven-year coaching spell at Tottenham, Mason has long been tipped for a future in management and could land his first role at West Brom. The Baggies finished ninth in the Championship but dismissed Mowbray after their play-off hopes ended in April.

Mowbray had only been hired in January to replace Carlos Corberan, who left to take over at Valencia in December. After Mason progressed through Spurs’ academy, he played once for England during a decade-long playing career before he was forced to retire at the age of 26 in 2018 after he sustained a fractured skull in a Premier League match for Hull away to Chelsea.

Uncertainly remains over the future of Tottenham boss Postecoglou and yet a coaching restructure at the Premier League team could occur regardless of if the Australian is kept on by chairman Daniel Levy. football.london understands a decision over Postecoglou's future is unlikely to be made this week.

It is believed that any decision to be made by Levy about the Australian is unlikely to occur this week with most staff, including Postecoglou, heading straight off on their post-season holidays after the final game of the season against Brighton. No meetings are understood to have taken place before that happened.