The 17-year-old has previously spent time training with Manchester United and will complete his move to north London this summer
At the start of the January transfer window, Barcelona were open in their pursuit of a new central midfielder. Many presumed that would be a player who could contribute in the here and now for Xavi, but with the Blaugrana priced out of a number of moves, they soon switched their attention to finding a midfield star of the future.
That led them in the direction of Lucas Bergvall, a Swedish teenager who has been making waves in his homeland over the past couple of years, and is now being tipped for the top. Barca, however, couldn't get a deal done for the 17-year-old, as Bergvall opted to join Tottenham over the Spanish giants after a saga that ran all the way until the end of deadline day on Thursday.
But who is Bergvall? GOAL has the lowdown on one of Scandinavia's top talents…
Where it all began
Bergvall was born in Stockholm and spent his youth playing for the IF Brommapojkarna academy. Although not known worldwide for its cultivation of youth talents, the club has produced a number of top-flight players, with Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski their most famous former graduate.
Bergvall was marked out as a talent in the Swedish national team setup early, and regularly appeared for their age-group teams. He comes from footballing stock, too, with his older brother, Theo, a promising right-back who also came through the same system at Brommapojkarna.
AdvertisementThe big break
Bergvall first came on the radar in his mid-teens, when he flirted with a move to a handful of top European clubs. He spent time training with both Manchester United and Feyenoord, but elected to stay with Brommapojkarna.
It proved to be a prudent decision, as Bergvall played a significant role to help his boyhood club earn promotion to the Allsvenskan (Sweden's top-flight) in 2022. He was accordingly rewarded with a big move to 12-time Swedish champions, Djurgardens, who spent just under €1 million to lure the midfielder away from home – a record fee for a Swedish teenager.
Getty ImagesHow it's going
That was in December 2022, and Bergvall has starred since then. He did enough in his early days for Djurgardens to prove that he could be a regular starter, breaking into the first XI after six weeks at the club. He endured spells in and out of the team – he is still just 17, after all – but was in the line-up for the games that mattered, and finished the season on a strong run of form.
He finished his debut campaign in the top-flight with 29 appearances in all competitions, and contributed three goals to the cause.
Biggest strengths
Watch Bergvall, and the first thing you will notice is his agility on the ball. The 17-year-old truly makes the game look easy, gliding through midfield and breaking lines with his dribbling ability. He is surprisingly strong for his age, too, and doesn't often get pushed off the ball.
In Djurgardens' system, Bergvall is the all-action midfielder, and covers ground accordingly. He is found sprinting up and down with regularity. But unlike a glut of young midfielders, Bergvall knows how to time his runs – especially when going forward. He will never be a prolific goalscorer, but he has mastered the Frank Lampard-esque late dart into the box, and he's also a tidy finisher when he gets there.