Lucas Bergvall has endured a slow start to life at Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur have struggled for consistency this season despite investing 100s of millions during the summer transfer window.
Ange Postecoglou has a lot of work to do over the international break after tasting a shock 2-1 defeat to newly promoted Ipswich Town at home—a result that left them 10th in the table. The Lilywhites face defending champions Manchester City after the break, a game they have to win to keep pace with the top four.
Having spent a considerable amount of money in the past window, Tottenham felt they had sufficient backup on the bench. However, that hasn’t been the case with one player struggling to impress thus far after arriving at the club. The player in this aspect is Lucas Bergvall.
Lucas Bergvall finally arrived at White Hart Lane from Djurgarden IF in the summer having signed on the dotted lines back in January. There has been hype around the Swedish talent, and it is believed that he has made a good impact behind the scenes in his short time at Tottenham. However, Ange Postecoglou hasn’t handed the teenager sufficient opportunities to make a mark.
Bergvall has made 10 appearances across all competitions, clocking just 324 minutes in total. He is yet to start a Premier League game for the north London club, and Swedish journalist Tobias Hellgren feels Ange Postecoglou has not been fully convinced with the Stockholm-born talent.
“There is something else to interpret in Ange’s words as well: he is simply not convinced of Bergvall’s current ability,” Tobias Hellgren told Swedish outlet Fotboll Skanalen.
“Now he has returned to the fact that the Swede has ‘more to learn’ so many times that everyone has understood that he thinks so. Subtly, Ange probably wants to convey instead that Bergvall is not ready – yet – for the high-tempo, heavy metal-like football that is at the top of the Premier League.
“Bergvall received two clear clearances against Manchester United and was the first to smoke at the red card against Qarabag. Being easy to sacrifice is often a good indicator of how high you stand with your coach.”
Spurs beat Barcelona to Bergvall’s signature in January with an eye for the future. The midfielder also recently opened up on his struggles capitalizing on the limited opportunities he has received under Postecoglou. Indeed, at 18 and coming from Allsvenskan—the Swedish top flight—whose quality cannot be matched with that of the Premier League, it isn’t surprising to see the youngster endure a slow start to life at N17.
While Bergvall hasn’t featured prominently for Big Ange’s side in the Premier League, he has nevertheless made four starts in the Europa League and once in the Carabao Cup, indicating that the teenage prodigy remains very much part of the Greek-Australian tactician’s plans.
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With games set to come thick and fast after the international break, injuries are suspension will supposedly follow and that could open the door for the Sweden international to feature prominently in the Premier League. If the situation still doesn’t change from now on and until the end of December, Daniel Levy and Big Ange would be wise to sanction a loan exit in January.
