Barcelona are set to miss out on Swedish gem Lucas Bergvall, who has instead opted for a move to Tottenham from the Premier League.
It was reported that Barca would get Bergvall and that the teenager was only interested in Xavi’s squad.
However, The Athletic now reports that Tottenham have won the race for the centre-forward and will pay €10 million plus add-ons for his signature.
Bergvall will sign a five-year contract with the north London side and complete the transfer in the summer transfer window. He will spend the rest of the campaign with Djurgardens.
The report claims that Bergvall “almost” sealed a deal with Barca before visiting Spurs and meeting head coach Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy.
Tottenham then managed to “convince Bergvall that he should continue his career there”, while Barcelona lost another promising young star.
The centre-forward had strong links with Barcelona and even chose the Catalans for a summer transfer, despite better offers from some clubs. His club, Djurgardens, also accepted their offer and the move was practically already complete.
Then Tottenham Hotspur came to the rescue, offering him a higher salary and even an immediate place in the first team. According to reports, his compatriot Dejan Kulushevski was also involved in persuading Bergvall to London.
Although Barcelona’s offer of €7 million plus add-ons was lower than Tottenham’s (€10 million plus add-ons), the Catalans were convinced that Bergvall would move to La Liga.
Barcelona were not willing to engage in a bidding war with any team for Bergvall, and the Swede had already visited the club and had lunch with Deco before finalising the transfer.
Barcelona fans, get ready to lock and load quotes from Johann Cruyff.