Tottenham Hotspur are holding firm on a £60m asking price for Lucas Bergvall, with both Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United falling well short of that figure in rejected bids this summer.
Forest had a £38m offer turned down, and Newcastle followed with a £46m bid that met the same fate, according to Spurs-Web. That is a gap of £14m between the highest offer received and what Spurs are actually demanding – not a rounding difference, a chasm.
The £60m figure comes from David Ornstein on The Athletic FC podcast, who reported that the consensus across the industry is that the Lilywhites will not move without reaching that threshold. When Ornstein puts a number on something, it tends to be the number clubs are actually working with.
Bergvall wants out, Spurs want their price
The 20-year-old has made clear he wants to leave, with regular minutes in his preferred number eight role the stated priority. Roberto De Zerbi’s arrival has complicated his path to the starting XI, and Bergvall is not minded to wait around on the bench to find out how that plays out.
Spurs, for their part, appear to be playing this sensibly – if a touch cynically. The bidding war strategy seems to be working, with Forest’s initial £38m approach having already drawn Newcastle into the auction at a higher figure. Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Napoli and Inter Milan are also said to be tracking Bergvall, which gives Tottenham leverage they would be foolish not to use.
The case for holding the line
Some supporters are understandably uneasy about selling a player who swept the end-of-season awards just over a year ago. The concern is legitimate. But if De Zerbi genuinely does not see Bergvall as a first-team regular, his value is more likely to erode than inflate by sitting in the squad for another season. Selling at peak price, to the right club, on your own terms – that is the ideal outcome Spurs rarely manage to engineer.
Forest are expected to return with an improved offer, and with broader European interest in play, Spurs may yet get close to what they are asking. Whether any club blinks first at £60m is the only question that matters now.
