Nottingham Forest prepare £45m bid for Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall

Nottingham Forest were preparing a £45m bid for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall, placing a still-developing 20-year-old at the centre of a market that increasingly prices promise as heavily as proven output. Forest had already seen an opening offer turned down and were expected to come back with a higher figure as interest in Bergvall widened across the Premier League.

Bergvall had told Tottenham he wanted to leave this summer in search of more regular first-team football, and he had also informed the club of his preference to move on. Tottenham had set an asking price of around £45m, with earlier bids described at roughly £38m, £43m and €50m from an English club believed to be Forest. The size of the valuation meant Spurs could still cash in if they received a club-record offer for a player who had not yet become a guaranteed starter.

The scale of Forest’s interest fitted a broader transfer pattern under owner Evangelos Marinakis. Forest broke the English record for the most signings in a single transfer window in 2022, and their willingness to swing big again has underlined how mid-table clubs now often have to pay premium fees just to compete for elite upside. In Bergvall’s case, the fee is about more than current status. It reflects the market value of age, resale potential and the scarcity of high-ceiling midfielders available inside the Premier League.

Tottenham’s own transfer plans have added to the pressure around Bergvall’s future. The club have been linked with moves for Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, and that activity has left Bergvall’s route to regular minutes looking more crowded. For a player who joined from Djurgarden and is still trying to establish himself in England, the combination of incoming competition and a steep asking price has turned him into exactly the kind of asset clubs now price as a long-term financial play as much as a footballer.

Forest’s second bid would test whether Tottenham see Bergvall as a player to build around or as one of the most saleable young assets in their squad.