Ornstein: Tottenham rejected Chelsea, Aston Villa ‘calls’ for Spurs star; face summer ‘battle’ to keep | OneFootball

Tottenham turned down approaches for Lucas Bergvall in the January transfer window, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

Spurs were one of the most active teams in the Premier League in the January transfer window with Conor Gallagher and Souza arriving in north London, while Brennan Johnson departed in a big deal to Crystal Palace.

There could have been more outgoings too in the winter with Ornstein now revealing that Sweden international Bergvall was the subject of interest from two Premier League clubs.

Ornstein wrote in The Athletic on Saturday that Tottenham ‘could face a battle to keep hold’ of Bergvall after ‘being forced to rebuff enquiries from rival teams in the winter transfer market’.

After going from Player of the Year under Ange Postecoglou last season, the 20-year-old has been used less under Thomas Frank, who was sacked on Wednesday and both Chelsea and Aston Villa had enquiries ‘rebuffed’ by Tottenham.

Ornstein adds in his report: ‘Both sides made direct contact with Spurs to establish whether a potential opportunity existed, but it was made clear they currently do not intend to consider his departure and the matter advanced no further.

‘Villa’s check call followed Spurs pipping them to the signing of Conor Gallagher and Chelsea’s came around the time they were also evaluating a deal for Douglas Luiz, who ultimately joined Villa.’

Bergvall, who helped Tottenham win the Europa League last season, was once named by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as he hailed the young Swede as “unstoppable”.

Guardiola said: “The pace of this team? Pfft, it is difficult. Maybe Liverpool [are better], but Bergvall, every time he has the ball and run, unstoppable. Spence and Pedro Porro, Udogie, [Dejan] Kulusevski, Son [Heung-min], an incredible physical team with a clear idea to play.

“They play really good and they play without [Cristian] Romero and [Micky] Van de Ven, two of maybe the best central defenders in the league. The game, it was open second half because we didn’t close the first.”

It remains to be seen how much playing time Bergvall gets under incoming interim head coach Igor Tudor with the Croatian reportedly agreeing to take over until the end of the season.

And Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has explained why he “fits the bill” in terms of what Tottenham are looking for in terms of an interim head coach.

Bridge said: “Spurs have been looking for an experienced head coach with a track record of going into clubs and making an immediate impact, and they see Tudor as someone who perfectly fits that bill.

“He was appointed at Juventus and Lazio in March in the last two seasons. He stabilised results in the short term. He guided Juve to fourth in Serie A to achieve Champions League qualification that earned him a two-year contract, but he was sacked just four months later after results deteriorated.

“He’s got this role based on what he’s done on a short-term basis at Lazio and Juve, and I can’t stress enough the importance of short term because it’s a huge few months ahead for Tottenham.

“On Pochettino, whether it happens in the summer, we don’t know yet. He’s got admirers at the club. He loves the club. The fans love him. We’ll wait and see if it happens in the summer.”