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Ange Postecoglou granted new Lucas Bergvall opportunity to enhance future Tottenham plans

Lucas Bergvall could be set to get more football under his belt as Tottenham start their Europa League campaign
-Credit: (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)


Lucas Bergvall has certainly left Tottenham fans wanting more in his minutes of football since linking up with Ange Postecoglou's squad this summer. Always going to be an interesting first few months for him in a Tottenham shirt as he adapts to life in a new country and also the pace and intensity of the Premier League, the Sweden international has been handed pitch time here and there since making the move from Djurgarden.

Always going to be eased into action following his switch from the Allsvenskan, Bergvall made his first Tottenham start in last week's late 2-1 win over Coventry City in the Carabao Cup. The youngster was a rare bright spot in the game for Spurs as he always looked to get on the ball in midfield and make things happen further forward.

He was replaced after 62 minutes at the CBS Arena and his substitution sparked a reaction from the away end as a number of the travelling fans booed the decision to take off one of their better players on the night. Postecoglou did give a spiky response when asked about it in his post-match press conference but he did state that his midfielder was "outstanding" in his game time.

Getting a few more minutes under his belt in their following game against Brentford as he came on for the last two minutes of the contest, the 18-year-old has so far had to contend with 33 minutes across four substitute appearances in the Premier League. Tottenham fans want to see more of Bergvall right now but they are managing his playing time and getting him used to the demands of the Premier League before he goes on to play a bigger role later down the line.

Opportunities are going to be there for Bergvall over the course of the season due to Tottenham's packed schedule, starting with the Europa League that the team will be involved in from Thursday evening. Qarabag are first up at home for the Lilywhites, with further games to come against Ferencvaros, AZ Alkmaar, Galatasaray, Roma, Rangers, Hoffenheim and Elfsborg prior to the knockout stage commencing in February.

Postecoglou does have the opportunity to rotate his team for the European fixtures due to the size of the squad now available to him in N17. That in turn means that Spurs fans could be about to see more of Bergvall in the weeks ahead with eight European fixtures in the calendar.

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While it may be a case of not throwing Bergvall in at the deep end in the Premier League just yet as he needs to adapt to the physical aspect of England's top flight, which Postecoglou mentioned could take a while when speaking in pre-season, the Europa League may suit him down to the ground and see him excel in the Australian's team. After all, coming up against European opposition is perhaps a similar style of football and also pace to what he is already accustomed to after playing in his homeland of Sweden prior to his move to London.

Bergvall is already familiar with one of the teams Tottenham have been paired against as they are set to play Allsvenskan side Elfsborg in their final league phase game at the end of January. Playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 win over Elfsborg back in May, the previous season he played in a loss and draw against the side who finished second and level on points with champions Malmo.

At a time when the cup competitions look like Bergvall's most realistic chance of starting games for Tottenham, Spurs have three European games to come before they return to Carabao Cup action week commencing Monday, October 28. Bergvall may not play every single game for Tottenham just yet but the team's stacked calendar means that the ex-Djurgarden man is going to get a healthy amount of minutes in the tank over the course of the season.

Tipped for big things in a Tottenham shirt, the team's involvement in the Europa League could just be the start of things to come in Bergvall's exciting Spurs journey and also the club's vision for the future.

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