Daniel Levy and Johan Lange transfer tactics revealed as club chief opens up on Tottenham deal

Djurgarden sporting director Bosse Andersson has explained to football.london exactly what it was like to negotiate a Swedish record transfer with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange for Lucas Bergvall.

In February this year the two clubs agreed a deal worth around £8.5million for the talented 18-year-old midfielder, which will include various add-ons and a partnership between the sides going forward. The transfer fee agreed with Tottenham was the biggest for any player taken from the Allsvenskan league.

Bergvall and his family chose the move to Tottenham over the lure of Barcelona, while German side Eintracht Frankfurt were also believed to be in the race at one point for the youngster, who had come through the academy at Brommapojkarna before moving to Djurgarden last year.

football.london spent some time in Stockholm with those around the teenager and also chatted with Bergvall himself for an insightful interview which you can find right here. We also spoke to Djurgarden's charismatic sporting director Andersson, who explained what doing the deal was like with an experienced chairman in Levy who is known as one of the game's toughest negotiators.

"Yeah, but I am also. I am also!" said the 55-year-old former Braga striker. "There were six or seven months with a lot of rumours, agents involved also. Sometimes you're lucky that you have been in this industry for many years and the clubs we spoke to have some history with us. I don't want to announce the clubs but you know which ones were interested.

"For us, when you go back 13 months, before Lucas signed for us, for us it's important that the family was involved in where Lucas will play football. Also we have a responsibility, in my way it's very important, the trust Brommapojkarna gave us, it's my hope to have that responsibility for the family and for the club that had worked with him for many years. We have just been the cream on the top.

READ MORE: Meet Lucas Bergvall, Tottenham's exciting new signing with 'star quality' Ange Postecoglou loves

READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou reveals when his biggest fight at Tottenham will come and whether he's happy

"Of course we have also a long history with Brommapojkarna because we have players coming in the last 10 years from them and they go to Poland, Norway or Germany or elsewhere. For us it's a kind of project and the relationship is very important. Brommapojkarna is a very good club with their academy and how they develop talents, so if we can be part of that and in Lucas' case it's fantastic after 13 months to do the biggest deal.."

He added: "In this deal, we had different clubs in which Lucas had the opportunity to visit, but in Tottenham's case, it was something very strong, just between me and Johan Lange. We know each other from when he was in Copenhagen. We kept it very quiet for almost four weeks. It was only when Lucas ended up in Tottenham [to visit that it came out].

"They were impressed at how quiet we kept it. When you have a big club in your front pocket, it's important to have another one in the back pocket."

Andersson explained how long it took for Spurs to show serious intent to do a deal with Djurgarden before the move was sealed and also his surprise that a big Premier League club still wanted to do the deal in instalments.

"I would say they showed interest three to four weeks before [he signed]. They said they had been following him and they were serious with their interest but to keep quiet and that they would be there [at the end]," he said.

"So from there it progressed and in the end, I know they have a reputation for being difficult, I know that (laughs), but for us they had the opportunity to take the deal and after that they were happy because the family were very happy from the first day. They sat down the day before Lucas' birthday and informed Tottenham that he wanted to play there and the transfer agreement was made."

He added with a laugh: "They talked about different instalments. That surprised me, but it was a couple of good instalments so we accepted it and we are proud of all of the negotiations.

"I am very proud of how we as a club handled the situation because it's not all transfers that big money is involved, a lot of parts can be involved. Tottenham are very happy, we are very happy and especially the family and the player was involved all through the situation which it's not normal when you do transfers. So for me it was a dream when you can have everything sorted out in a good way, the best way for all the parties."

So what of Spurs' technical director Lange, who was an integral part of the deal, having identified and pushed through the move for Bergvall thanks to his relationship with Andersson. The Dane is known as a very quiet, focused man and Andersson told football.london about his relationship with the Spurs man and his dealings with Levy.

"I think if you compare me with Johan Lange, we are different people!" he said with a giggle. "I know him from FC Copenhagen because I have a long relationship with them and I think they will have stories about how Bosse Andersson works because we have done some transfers before. I know him well and he's a person you respect. It's a very different world to do transfers and I appreciate him a lot.

"He was the key to this deal and I think you have to also understand that with him being new in the club. I asked to meet Levy on the phone, on FaceTime, he was happy and I went to the president's suite at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium [after the move] and he was happy then, so I thought he was not difficult. He's a very happy, friendly guy.

"Johan being there is important and I think it was important for him [being new at Spurs] to say 'here is the deal' and not for me to change it and put in other things. I think that was something that he, I won't say was impressed, but he had a big trust in me."

Andersson believes that Djurgarden will make all of the extra money within the add-ons included for Bergvall's transfer, with the objectives to unlock them having been previously described as easily achievable.

"For our club it was definitely the biggest deal in our history, also I think it's top [in Sweden]," the sporting director told football.london. "When you buy a talent like Lucas at his age, you put in things that you know will increase the price if he produces. With him that's almost a guarantee because I'm quite sure Lucas will be a success and stay there for many years. It's not bank guaranteed money but in my world it's that."

He added: "For me Tottenham have the best stadium in the world. I am proud of Lucas now and I will be proud when I see him play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium because as a sporting director you are in the journey of his career. This is everything for me, from last summer with all the phone calls, all the contacts, all the people and it ended like this. I will be proud of this transfer for all of my life.

"When you get on your 18th birthday to sign a five-year contract with a big Premier League club it's an amazing story."

Andersson has high hopes for Bergvall and he believes that the teenager has found the perfect club for his development in the north London outfit.

"He will be a very good player for the Sweden national team and he's a different kind of person. He has the talent and when in a club with better players and an environment that trusts in him with a big investment, the sky is the limit for him," he said.

"I think having Dejan Kulusevski there will help him, of course having another Swedish person there and someone from the same background. They both came from Brommapojkarna and I know that Kulusevski will take care of him, but I'm quite sure that everyone will take care of Lucas because when I was there I could tell that Tottenham are very much a family club.

"I saw the message he got from Sonny [after he put pen to paper] and they were very proud when Lucas signed for them so I'm not worried even if Dejan is not around [at times] because he will have the right situation."

The deal between Djurgarden and Tottenham will also lead to further cooperation between the two clubs going forward in terms of a friendly in Stockholm as well as further players moving between the sides.

"We have done a transfer and it could just be about money, but for me it's important that you have value in cooperation. The relationship is also important," said Andersson. "We will have a friendly game. We will plan after our season ends, in November, December we will see about the summer of 2025, that's the target.

"It depends on how we end the league and European competition. It's not easy to find a good date but we have the priority. We will be part of their plans."

On the subject of young Tottenham players coming to plan at Djurgarden, he said: "Yes, of course. That's something we also discussed. It's good when you have a relationship. I was there a couple of weeks ago.

"My dream is that we can learn a lot by going there with our staff and of course Tottenham have young players that they loan out, six, seven or eight players [every season] and we can of course be a part of that. We can be a part of their plans and that's important."

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham by clicking here!