Lucas Bergvall Signs New Contract with Tottenham Hotspur

Lucas Bergvall has nailed his colours to the Tottenham Hotspur mast, signing a new contract at a club still searching for its first Premier League win of the season but convinced it is building something worth waiting for.

The 20-year-old midfielder entered the summer window with his future under a cloud. Interest gathered from elsewhere. Questions lingered over his role and pathway. Inside Hotspur Way, though, Roberto De Zerbi never wavered. He wanted Bergvall, wanted to shape him, and made it clear the Swede would be central to his project.

“Every day in training you can see Lucas' desire to learn, improve and push himself to the highest level,” the Spurs head coach told club media. “Lucas is brave, he wants responsibility and has the personality to play in big moments.

“He also understands that development is a process, and he has shown a fantastic attitude towards working on the areas of his game where he can become even better. I believe his best football is still ahead of him, and we want to give Lucas the platform to reach his full potential.”

That word – platform – matters. Tottenham have stumbled out of the blocks in the league, still without a win, yet inside the dressing room the mood is not one of panic. Bergvall, now tied down on fresh terms, sees a long game being played in north London.

“I think we're building something great here,” the Sweden international said, explaining why he chose to commit. “It's an exciting time for the club, and that's why I'm happy to extend my contract. I'm always trying to achieve as much as possible, to be the best version of myself both on and off the pitch, and I know this is the right place to do that.

“Personally, my goal is to produce more for the team – performances, goals and assists – to help as much as I can. I'm getting better every day in training, and I'm looking forward to what will be a really good season ahead.”

Inside the recruitment department, the new deal lands like a small victory. Spurs have seen too many gifted youngsters drift away before their peak. This time, they have moved early.

“Lucas is an outstanding young player with enormous potential and we are delighted that he has committed his future to the club,” said sporting director Johan Lange. “From the moment he arrived, he has demonstrated not only his technical ability and intelligence on the pitch, but also the character we expect from our players. Lucas has a fantastic attitude to his work.

“He is eager to learn and improve every day, and he has become an important part of the group. This new contract is a reflection of our belief in Lucas and the role we see him playing both now and in the future of the club.”

The belief is there. The puzzle, though, is where exactly to place him.

Back in July, Jermaine Jenas drew a line from Bergvall’s situation to one of the most transformative midfielders in Spurs’ modern history. Luka Modric arrived in 2008 as a slight, technically exquisite playmaker, but for months the club wrestled with his best position before Harry Redknapp finally trusted him at the heart of midfield.

“It reminds me a little bit of Luka Modric when Luka arrived at the football club,” Jenas told football.london in an exclusive interview. “I feel like with Luka, we didn't quite know where to play him at that particular time when he arrived.

“Because when he arrived, he was so slight as a player, unbelievable on the ball, but I think everybody's assumption was that he was like a number 10. As the weeks went by, it took Harry Redknapp's experience and trust to look at him and go, 'You know what, he's a centre-midfield player and he can mix it in there. I can trust him there.'”

The Premier League’s midfield battleground has not softened since then. If anything, it has become even more demanding.

“Because in the Premier League, it's so athletic and you've got to be so strong and so fit in the middle of the park,” Jenas said. “I think we always make that mistake in England, assuming that, actually, when you put ball players in there, they know how to deal with the game in that centre-midfield area.

“And Bergvall has just fallen into that bracket of: where do you play him? Is he more of where Martin Odegaard plays for Arsenal, or is he a deeper-lying midfield player? Is he more of a 6 or an 8?

“I've seen him do them all and he does them well. He's also very young, so he's going to have those kind of up-and-down moments, but the one thing he hasn't really managed to do is just hold down a spot.”

That, ultimately, is the challenge this new contract throws down. Tottenham have secured the talent. De Zerbi and his staff now have to solve the riddle that surrounds it.

If they get the answer right, the comparison with Modric might one day feel less like a compliment and more like a warning the rest of the league failed to heed.