Roberto de Zerbi has said he would like Lucas Bergvall to stay at Tottenham, but admitted he cannot promise him a starting role.
Sweden midfielder Bergvall is keen to leave Spurs this summer in order to get more regular game time, with several Premier League clubs chasing his signature.
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So far, the north London outfit have rejected advances from Nottingham Forest and Newcastle for the 20-year-old.
Forest have had at least one offer of £38million knocked back, while the Magpies failed with a £46m bid for Bergvall earlier this month.
Meanwhile Brighton are also keeping tabs on him, who are yet to make any formal contact with Spurs over a potential deal, but the Swede has caught the eye of their data-led recruitment team.
talkSPORT understands Bergvall has informed Tottenham chiefs of his desire to find a new club, after failing to hold nail down a starting berth.
Despite representing Sweden at the World Cup, the youngster cut his his summer break short to join his Spurs teammates on the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand.
With his future still up in the air, Bergvall was handed a surprise start for his side’s penalty shootout win over Sydney FC on Wednesday.
No promises
Following Tottenham’s pre-season victory in Sydney, head coach De Zerbi admitted he made mistakes in his handling of Bergvall towards the end of last season, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.
And while the Italian admitted he is keen for Bergvall to stay, he reiterated his previous stance that the club will not stand in the way of players wanting to leave, and refused to guarantee him more than a squad role.
De Zerbi said: “I’m always being very clear with him and with you. I would like that he stays with us.
“I think he’s potentially a top, top, top player. But then I don’t want to convince anyone to stay. Tottenham is already, without me, a top club and we are not to convince anyone to stay.
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“He can find the space if he stays with us. The competition within the players will be very strong because we are Tottenham and we have to build a strong squad – not just 11 players – especially considering a lot of injuries we suffered in the last two, three seasons.
“Football is going in a clear direction – to compete for the highest places in the table, you have to manage 22, 23, 24 players. I don’t want 24, but 21, 22 of a high level.”
‘He has to improve’
Bergvall made 33 appearances for Spurs across all competitions last term, scoring once and adding three assists.
However, only 17 of these were starts, and he is likely to face an even tougher task of being a regular name in the first XI in the upcoming season.
De Zerbi has strengthened his midfield options after landing Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes for a combined £185m.
And with Bergvall keen to play in a deeper midfield role, a position he occupied alongside Archie Gray in Spurs’ latest pre-season game, the arrival of both new players has cast doubt over this.
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De Zerbi confirmed as much in his interview, as he then explained that Bergvall will have fight for his place here,
The Tottenham boss continued: “He wants space. He wants to play as a double pivot as a position. I can’t give, for any player in the world, the place in the first XI guaranteed.
“I want to be honest with the players. I want to be clear. I don’t want to make the first mistake. In terms of position, I can’t give guarantees. It’s right when he wants to play as a central midfielder.
“But to play as a central midfielder, sometimes it is to attack, sometimes to keep the holder, to move the ball faster.
“He has to improve.”
