Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou move suggests different future for Lucas Bergvall
Share:
Lucas Bergvall's first Premier League start for Tottenham could scarcely have been better timed. The 18-year-old's dad, Andreas, was in the UK and at St. Mary's to watch the midfielder produce a composed display in the 5-0 thrashing of Southampton, which spelled the end of Russell Martin's tenure as Saints head coach but felt like the true start of Bergvall's time at Spurs.
"I don't think he even knew [I was starting], I didn't tell him before,” said Bergvall said after Spurs' biggest win of the season. “We talked about it before, maybe I would [start], maybe I wouldn't. Be he always supports me. My mum as well, so I'm lucky.
"It felt unbelievable, amazing. We had a really good first half, scored a goal and just kept going. Some things to work on second half but still we closed the game and won 5-0.". Before Sunday, the summer signing from Swedish club Djurgardens had been restricted to 74 minutes in the top-flight across a series of uneventful cameos and struggled to make an impression in the Europa League.
He was the fall-guy when centre-half Radu Dragusin was sent off in Spurs' opening European game against Qarabag, hooked after 12 minutes to accommodate a replacement defender, and appeared overawed in the cauldron of Galatasaray's Rams Park, as Spurs fell to a 3-2 defeat last month.
Bergvall has steadily improved since his rough night in Istanbul, however, looked assured in a succession of tidy cameos against Bournemouth, Chelsea and Rangers before suspensions to Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur opened the door for him to start against Saints.
.jpg?trim=66,0,66,0&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1000)