Wolves Miss Out on ‘Next Frenkie de Jong’ as Spurs Secure Late Move
Wolves reportedly made a late attempt to sign Swedish talent Lucas Bergvall, but the teenager ultimately opted to join Tottenham Hotspur.
It was a quiet January window for Wolves, with the club making just one signing in the end.
Noha Lemina was brought in from Paris Saint-Germain on a loan deal, and Wolves will have the option to make that move permanent in the summer.
The club were still having to be very careful with their spending last month.
Lots of sales were made last summer as the club needed to balance to book so as to not fall foul of Profitability and Sustainability rules, but there were still concerns last month.
But now, it is being claimed Wolves did actually try to sign talented youngster Bergvall despite their financial restrictions…
Noha Lemina was the only incoming for Wolves but it might have been two, with Fotbol Direkt claiming Wanderers were ready to go in with an offer of around £10-11 million.
This was actually more money than Tottenham – the club he ultimately joined – offered up front.
It is reported that Bergvall was ‘flattered’, but the interest from Wolves simply arrived too late, with the player already giving his word to Tottenham.
The player informed Wolves and Aston Villa – who also made a late swoop – that he could not possibly change his mind after telling Spurs he would sign for them.
In the end, Spurs landed Bergvall for an initial £9 million. The north Londoners swooped after the player was actually very close to signing for Barcelona – he even went there to finalise a move, before Spurs’ late call according to Fabrizio Romano.
Perhaps Wolves’ offer was in the form of a loan move first, with an obligation to buy the player in the summer. Wolves will be able to spend more freely in the summer in what will be a new FFP cycle.
But Bergvall, who will remain with his club Djurgarden until the end of the season, will come to English football and we will soon see if Wolves will come to regret not making their apparent interest known sooner.
By many accounts, Bergvall is a seriously talented individual, and it may well be that Wolves’ loss will very much be Spurs’ gain. The Mirror have reported that he has been described as a ‘little copy of Frenkie de Jong’ for his ability to play the ball between the lines’, so he is clearly a very bright prospect.