Roberto De Zerbi sends Lucas Bergvall transfer message after surprise Tottenham start | OneFootball

Young star informed Spurs of transfer decision earlier this summer

Roberto De Zerbi has issued Lucas Bergvall a message ahead of the new Premier League season, admitting that that he cannot “guarantee” the young star first-team minutes.

The Swede indicated to Spurs that he wanted to leave north London this summer in search of more regular game time, with Nottingham Forest seeing a bid rejected and Newcastle registering their interest in the midfielder.

The 20-year-old was handed a start in the engine room alongside stand-in skipper Archie Gray in Tottenham’s second pre-season friendly of their tour of Australia, where De Zerbi’s side bested Sydney FC 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.

Bergvall was given a rare opportunity with summer signing Mateus Fernandes dropping out of the matchday squad entirely as a precautionary measure, while fellow new recruit Sandro Tonali came off the bench.

Wants out: Lucas Bergvall

PA

The £185million double arrival of the pair seems to have pushed the Sweden international further down the pecking order at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as he competes with the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, Conor Gallagher and Gray for a start in the engine room.

Should he want to play as a more advanced No10, he would then be up against James Maddison, Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus, although all three have been dealing with their own respective injury problems. Gallagher was fielded as the attacking midfield outlet against Sydney.

De Zerbi said of Bergvall after the game: “It’s very clear, his idea. He wants space. He wants to play as a double pivot as a 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. I don’t want to make the first mistake. 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, [you need to] attack, [play as] the holder and move the ball faster He has to improve. I would like him to stay, but if he doesn’t want, then what can I do? Nothing. He has to speak with Vinai [Venkatesham] or Johan Lange.”

Demands: Roberto De Zerbi

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The Italian was quick to praise Bergvall’s potential.

“I think he’s potentially a top player, but then I don’t want to convince anyone to stay,” he continued.

“Tottenham is already, without me, a top club and we are not to convince anyone to stay. 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 a lot 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, 22, of a high level, for sure.

“[He has] never [asked me to leave]. I was speaking with him before the end of last season. During the World Cup twice too. But now we are speaking better, face to face, without a competition in this moment.

“His position is very clear for me now. I needed time to understand the characteristics of the players. But I would like hi m to stay with us. He’s very young, a very good player, a good guy. It’s not so easy so fast to find a young player of that level.”