Tottenham Hotspur’s campaign dangles by a thread, with Sunday’s defeat at Craven Cottage the latest in a lasting litany.
Hopes of success through the Premier League are negligible, for Spurs are sat in 14th with nine games to go, some ten points behind tenth-place Bournemouth.
However, Ange Postecoglou will cling to the Europa League and rightly so. Tottenham beat AZ Alkmaar last week to move into the quarter-finals, where a two-legged tie with Eintracht Frankfurt awaits.
Winning the competition would not only end an interminable trophy drought but carve a pathway through to next season’s Champions League proper.
Plenty of variables and the wrong move could spell the end for Ange. However, the Australian has reshaped Tottenham into an outfit with attacking inspiration once more. Injuries have weighed the club down in 2024/25, but there have been several threads which speak of an exciting future.
Lucas Bergvall is chief among them.
Lucas Bergvall's Tottenham future
When Tottenham won the race for teenage prodigy Bergvall in January 2024, they left Barcelona munching dust as they claimed the prized signature for an £8.5m figure.
Some bargain, that. The Swedish midfielder, still only 19, stayed in his homeland with Djurgården until the end of the 2023/24 campaign, but after arriving in London last summer, his talent and intelligence have swiftly seen him graduate in Postecoglou’s system to a high station, featuring 38 times, scoring one goal, adding four assists.
The fact he hasn’t graced the youth scene even once stands as a barometer for his ability and recognition within Ange’s project. Of course, injuries to other teammates have accelerated his development and then some, but Bergvall has largely stood out, earning praise from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola for being “unstoppable” on the ball.
The data backs that one up, for sure. As per FBref, Bergvall ranks among the top 1% of centre-midfielders across Europe over the past year for successful take-ons per 90, perfectly highlighting his expertise in that area.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
It goes to show that Tottenham have the framework for something special, there is enough substance about this squad to create a trophy-winning future.
However, injuries and, yes, Ange’s failings may well have set the club back this year. So much hinges on getting a grip on that European trophy.
Bergvall’s great, but he is only a teenager. Looking back, Postecoglou might regret cashing in on a midfielder who plays in a similar vein to the Sweden international and might just have been an invaluable option in the middle of the park this season.
Ange must regret selling "master" for cheap
Tottenham Hotspurs’ advancement to the last eight in the Europa League owed in large part to Bergvall’s brilliance in the centre, notably winning all seven duels and completing each of his three attempted dribbles, as per Sofascore.
He’s only going to get better, but there is certainly a sense that he might have benefitted from Postecoglou keeping Giovani Lo Celso in the squad this year.
Tottenham signed Lo Celso from Real Betis in 2019, initially on loan, before the Spanish side re-signed him for a cheap £8.5m fee last summer when he had one year remaining on his contract.
The technically gifted midfielder largely struggled to impress in Tottenham, scoring ten goals across 108 matches, but he did enjoy moments under Postecoglou’s wing last season, with his performances this year proving he may well have still been of use.
Lo Celso is riding the crest of a wave this season, and if we contrast his metrics in La Liga with his performances throughout the 2023/24 campaign in the Premier League, it’s clear he’s got enough about him across the different functions of the midfield game to have made a positive impression once again this term.
Matches (starts)
22 (4)
16 (11)
Goals
2
7
Assists
2
1
Touches*
28
57.7
Pass completion
92%
83%
Key passes*
0.8
1.7
Dribbles*
0.4
0.9
Ball recoveries*
2.1
3.3
Tackles + interceptions*
1.2
2.1
Ground duels (won)*
2.5 (67%)
5.4 (60%)
As you can see, Lo Celso’s role at Betis has given rise to his playmaking qualities, but his defensive sharpness remains of particular note, combining with a “magic” touch on the ball – as has been noted by football reporter Oliver Young-Myles – to produce a refined and rounded midfielder.
As per FBref, the 28-year-old actually ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive passes and tackles, the top 2% for passes attempted and the top 6% for shot-creating actions per 90. It’s no wonder he’s been described as “the master of the last pass” by journalist Milena Gimon in the past.
He doesn’t dribble forward with regularity, but Lo Celso has completed 73% of his ball-carrying attempts in La Liga this term, highlighting his aptitude on that front too, another emulation of Bergvall’s abilities.
With a far superior goal threat, wonderful ball-playing game and defensive security, there’s little question Lo Celso is outperforming most of Tottenham’s midfield this term, Bergvall among them. This is not to the Swede’s discredit, but rather an illumination of the wrongdoings down N17. He should have been kept on the books.
All told, Lo Celso was underwhelming for the majority of his time in north London, but his prolific performances this year suggest that £8.5m fee wasn’t a fair reflection of market value when he left.
Not only that, the Argentinian star could have added the perfect extra dimension to Postecoglou’s struggling side this term, easing the burden on the shoulders of youngsters like Bergvall.
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