The transfer window is due to slam shut this evening and Tottenham Hotspur appear to still be active in their efforts to add to Ange Postecoglou's squad.
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Whilst supporters may want to see signings that immediately bolster the first-team, such as Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin, the club are reportedly looking at a long-term project.
According to Football Insider, the Lilywhites are plotting a last-gasp hijack of Barcelona's deal to sign Lucas Bergvall from Swedish side Djurgardens IF.
The Spanish giants have rolled out the 'red carpet' to tempt the 17-year-old maestro to LaLiga, along with an offer of £8.5m to secure his services.
It states, however, that Spurs are now ready to invite the teenage whiz to their training ground to hold talks over a move to England, after the player visited Catalonia on Tuesday.
If Tottenham win this battle and convince him to join the North London side then they could find their dream long-term heir to Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield.
Bentancur's brilliance last season
The Uruguay international has struggled with injuries this term – starting three Premier League matches – but caught the eye with his impressive displays in midfield last season.
He started 17 top-flight games, and came off the bench once, for Spurs and showcased his quality defensively, in transition, and at the top end of the pitch for the club.
The former Juventus ace won 53% of his duels and made 3.6 tackles and interceptions per match, which shows that the talented gem held his own in physical contests to cut out opposition attacks.
Bentancur also completed 66% of his attempted dribbles (1.2 per game) to help his team to beat opposition presses and burst past players in transition to push his side up the pitch.
Along with that, the 26-year-old dynamo chipped in with five goals and two assists as he showed off his ability to provide vital contrbutions in the final third to win points for Spurs.
The stats that show why Bergvall could be Bentancur 2.0
At the age of 17, Bergvall is unlikely to be signed as a player expected to make an instant impact in the Premier League and could, instead, be viewed as a future heir to Bentancur – who is nine years older.
The teenager, who turns 18 on Friday, played 25 league games for his club throughout 2023, despite his age, and caught the eye with his midfield displays.
Appearances
25
Starts
11
Goals
Two
Assists
One
Pass accuracy
88%
Like the Spurs maestro, the Swedish wizard is a fantastic dribbler who can evade challenges and beat players with relative ease for his team – with 1.1 dribbles per game at a success rate of 68%.
Bergvall was willing to put his foot in to win possession back for his team as the talented youngster made 2.20 tackles and interceptions combined per 90.
The Spurs target, who was once hailed as "superb" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is a box-to-box midfielder, like Bentancur, who can make contributions in all three thirds.
Therefore, Postecoglou could land his long-term heir to the ex-Juventus gem by beating Barcelona to the signing of the 17-year-old whiz, who has plenty of time to develop and improve before taking over from the Uruguay international further down the line.