€400m spent but Tottenham's most important transfer agreement has cost nothing

Analysis

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Tottenham have gone crazy in the transfer market this summer, but their biggest success story could actually turn out to be keeping Lucas Bergvall.

Spurs are poised to spend north of €400 million this summer. Around €267m has already been invested in the team, and there are at least two more deals in the pipeline, with Savinho and Omar Marmoush looking set to join from Man City for a combined fee in excess of €150m.

The Roberto de Zerbi rebuild has been spectacular. Tottenham will look unrecognisable this season, particularly in midfield, which is the department that has caused the most headaches in recent seasons as Spurs were suffering from a chronic shortage of incisive passers.

De Zerbi has completely changed his engine room with the arrivals of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes to the tune of more than €200m. This, however, had the side effect of disillusioning Bergvall.

Earlier this summer, it was reported that the Sweden international had requested to leave the club, fearing that he would struggle for minutes this season. Despite several offers from suitors, chiefly Nottingham Forest, the 20-year-old remains in North London.

Keeping Bergvall is a no-brainer

Although Tottenham were prepared to sell if their valuation was met, it would always have been a reluctant sale. Thankfully, this scenario has not materialised, with no suitors ready to break the bank for the youngster.

According to Roberto de Zerbi, the matter is now closed: Bergvall is going nowhere. "Lucas Bergvall, 100% [he is staying]. We spoke a lot in pre-season. He’s a top player, a top potential player. I think now he wants to stay and we have no problem," the Italian said.

If De Zerbi's comments can be taken at face value, then this is a brilliant achievement for Spurs. Given his price tag, they evidently still rate him very highly indeed - and rightfully so.

Many fans were disappointed with the news that Bergvall wanted to leave. While they understood his reasoning and the fact that Spurs need sales to offset their spending, they did not want to lose arguably the club's most promising young talent.

To be sure, Bergvall hasn't quite kicked on as expected since his sizeable €20m move from Djurgarden in 2024, but let's not forget that Tottenham have been a mess for much of the past two years.

According to data analytics firm SciSports, the 20-year-old remains one of the most exciting talents in world football. Although his positive development since the turn of the year is described as only "minimal," Bergvall still has sky-high potential.

SciSports uses hundreds of in-game data points to calculate a SciSkill rating and potential. Bergvall sits third among central midfielders aged 20 or younger when it comes to his ceiling.

He only trails PSG wonderkids Warren Zaire-Emery and Senny Mayulu. In terms of current ability, Bergvall just edges the latter, meaning that SciSports believes that he is the second-best midfielder in his age group in world football right now.

To hammer home how impressive Bergvall's current level and potential are, he has already cracked the top 10 best midfielders in the Premier League, and he sits seventh in terms of potential among players aged 20 or younger in any position.

If De Zerbi can figure out a way to give Bergvall ample game time, the payoff could be substantial. Keeping him at the club could genuinely be the biggest success of Tottenham's summer window.