How Spurs are planning to sign £51m replacement

Incomings mean outgoings; that’s just a fact of life. Tottenham Hotspur‘s early lavish spending was always going to have it’s repurcussions.

The issue is, have the Lilywhites handed Roberto De Zerbi too much power? Are they selling off the family silver to fund immediate, short-term success?

This is a team crying out for experience and proven Premier League quality, although eyebrows have to be raised at the decision to allow Luka Vuskovic to head to Brighton and Hove Albion, even with Jan Paul van Hecke having moved in the opposite direction.

That trade of youth for experience might well be repeated with regard to Newcastle United, with Sandro Tonali’s £100m arrival potentially playing its part in ending Lucas Bergvall‘s stay at N17. Is it prime time to cash in on the Swede, or will it come back to bite the north Londoners?

Are Spurs right to cash in on Lucas Bergvall?

From a purely business point of view, the decision to sell the 20-year-old makes perfect sense, not least considering he arrived as a mere teenager two years ago for a fee of just £8.5m.

The suggestion is that Spurs have only this week knocked back an offer worth as much as £46m from Newcastle, with there a feeling that they can make an even greater profit on the Scandinavian star.

It’s also worth noting too that Bergvall hasn’t exactly flourished as yet in English football, starting just 11 Premier League games in each of the last two seasons.

Injury, alongside competition for places, has hampered the rising star, while he didn’t appear to feature too heavily in De Zerbi’s thinking at the back end of last term, playing a total of just ten minutes across the final four league games.

There might not be a better time to rake in a sizeable profit, although the nagging issue is that there is a talent there to be excited by, Bergvall hailed as boasting a first touch “like [Luka] Modric” by The Athletic’s JJ Bull.

The Swedish starlet is such an elegant, graceful midfielder, someone who can seemingly operate in a range of midfield roles. Having boasted an 89% pass accuracy in 2024/25 too, he does appear well-suited to De Zerbi’s possession-heavy style.

If it is to come down to a choice between Bergvall and Archie Gray, however, the latter has shown more to be encouraged by, ensuring that, after Vuskovic, Bergvall might have to be the next casualty of this new era under the Italian maverick.

The arrival of a third midfielder, even after signing Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, hadn’t been ruled out even before the talk surrounding Bergvall, with De Zerbi seeking to oversee a real overhaul in the department.

Yves Bissouma has already departed on a free, while loan hero Joao Palhinha is not expected to return, suggesting that there might be room for one more, particularly considering the recent injury record of both Rodrigo Bentancur and James Maddison.

One name that has been mooted is Japan’s World Cup star, Kaishu Sano, with TEAMtalk reporting that Tottenham are among the clubs to have held talks with the player’s representatives.

Both Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund have also reached out to the 25-year-old’s camp, although so too have Liverpool, the Reds deemed to be leading the race as they ready a first offer.

In terms of the nature of that bid, the Reds are said to be willing to meet the £51m asking price that Mainz have set, putting pressure on the likes of Spurs to firm up their interest.

Sano might not necessarily be the household name of Tonali and Fernandes, but he could be a prime replacement for Bergvall, having shown his class on the global stage in recent weeks.

It was notably his goal that fired Japan ahead against Brazil in the round of 32, breezing past an ageing Casemiro with consummate ease, before rifling in from range.

Across his three starts at the tournament, Sano boasted a stellar 91% pass accuracy rate, impressively completing 90% of his passing within the opposition half too, suggesting he can flourish in tight areas and against elite opposition, namely the Netherlands and Brazil.

He also chalked up one assist and averaged 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game, providing a real combative edge in the heart of Japan’s midfield.

For context, while Bergvall started only one of his four outings for Sweden, he averaged just an 88% pass accuracy rate, while averaging only 1.3 tackles and interceptions per game.

Looking back to last season too in the Bundesliga, Sano was a quietly consistent force, starting all 34 games in Germany’s top tier, while creating six ‘big chances’ and registering three goals and assists.

He’s further along in his development than Bergvall evidently, with a deal for Sano likely to only speed up the process of moving Bergvall out the door.

Perhaps the Lilywhites will live to regret such a sale, but after two largely underwhelming seasons for the youngster at N17, there can’t be too many complaints.