Lucas Bergvall responds to Tottenham summer transfer speculation: 'I just tried to be happy' | OneFootball

Sweden international submitted a transfer request in July before signing a new long-term deal

Lucas Bergvall insists he made no attempt to force a move away from Tottenham before deciding to sign a new contract with the club this summer.

The 20-year-old Swede seemed set to call time on his Spurs spell after being pushed to the fringes of the squad last season. Standard Sport reported in July he was frustrated by the lack of opportunities to play in his preferred position and had asked to leave the club.

Roberto De Zerbi later said in a press conference that the player was free to leave if he did not want to be there, and Bergvall was heavily linked with a move to Nottingham Forest.

It came as something of a surprise, then, when it was announced he had signed a bumper new deal in September. He has committed his future to the club through 2031, and picked up a considerable pay rise in doing so.

He has now shed some light on the behind-the-scenes conversations which led to his new deal, insisting he made no attempt to force a move away from the club.

“Last year was tough, and that was reflected quite a bit in how things went,” he said, speaking via Fotbollskanalen from Sweden’s Nations League training camp.

“But I’ve always had a good dialogue with the club. Incredibly happy to have signed a new contract. There was a lot of speculation this summer.”

Lucas Bergvall has been a fixture at Tottenham in the early days of this season

Getty

Asked to clarify whether he had wanted to leave the club at any point, he added: “I let time do the talking. I didn’t try to force anything, just tried to be happy. I’ve always had a good dialogue with the club.”

As journalists probed into the finer details of his new deal, Bergvall kept his cards close to his chest.

Asked whether the contract featured a release clause, he said: “Is that what you want to hear? That’s not something I’m going to say

“I don’t know if I should go into exactly what’s in the contract, as it’s quite personal, but I’m incredibly happy to have signed a new deal and feel positive about the process.”

Tottenham have made a dour start to the new campaign. They head into the first international break of the season dead last in the Premier League and already out of the Carabao Cup.

Bergvall has appeared in five of Spurs’ seven matches so far this season, starting three times.