De Zerbi appeals for wantaway Spurs star to stay | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall has asked to leave the club, but manager Roberto De Zerbi has revealed he wants him to stay.

Spurs drew 1-1 with Sydney FC, as they continued their pre-season preparations. Despite his future remaining uncertain, Bergvall started and impressed in the match.

The 20-year-old has already been linked with a number of Premier League rivals this month. It is believed that he would command a fee in the region of £60 million.

“I’m always being very clear with him and with you,” De Zerbi explained on Bergvall’s situation. “I would like that he stays with us.

“I think he’s potentially a top, top, top player. But then I don’t want to convince anyone to stay. Tottenham is already, without me, a top club and we are not to convince anyone to stay.”

Tottenham have already spent big on two central midfielders this summer, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. Bergvall may now feel that he has fallen down the pecking order in De Zerbi’s side.

The Spurs boss continued: “He can find the space if he stays with us. The competition within the players will be very strong because we are Tottenham and we have to build a strong squad, not just 11 players. Especially considering the amount of injuries we suffered in the last two, three seasons.

“Football is going in a clear direction, to compete for the highest places in the table, you have to manage 22, 23, 24 players. I don’t want 24, but 21 or 22, of a high level.”

Although he did have some injury issues, Bergvall made just 33 appearances for Spurs in all competitions last season, half of which were off the bench. It represents a backwards step for the Sweden international who played 45 times in the campaign before.

De Zerbi admitted: “He wants space. He wants to play as a double pivot as his position. I can’t give, for any player in the world, the place in the first XI guaranteed.

“I want to be honest with the players, I want to be clear. In terms of position, I can’t give a guarantee.

“It’s right when he wants to play as a central midfielder. But to play as a central midfielder, sometimes it is to attack, sometimes to keep the holder, to move the ball faster. He has to improve.”