Lucas Bergvall: Tottenham's new teenage wonderkid who turned down Barcelona to join Ange Postecoglou's revolution

Bergvall was born in Stockholm and spent his youth playing for the IF Brommapojkarna academy. Although not known worldwide for its cultivation of youth talents, the club has produced a number of top-flight players, with Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski their most famous former graduate.

Bergvall was marked out as a talent in the Swedish national team setup early, and regularly appeared for their age-group teams. He comes from footballing stock, too, with his older brother, Theo, a promising right-back who also came through the same system at Brommapojkarna.

Bergvall first came on the radar in his mid-teens, when he flirted with a move to a handful of top European clubs. He spent time training with both Manchester United and Feyenoord, but elected to stay with Brommapojkarna.

It proved to be a prudent decision, as Bergvall played a significant role to help his boyhood club earn promotion to the Allsvenskan (Sweden's top-flight) in 2022. He was accordingly rewarded with a big move to 12-time Swedish champions, Djurgardens, who spent just under €1 million to lure the midfielder away from home - a record fee for a Swedish teenager.

That was in December 2022, and Bergvall has starred since then. He did enough in his early days for Djurgardens to prove that he could be a regular starter, breaking into the first XI after six weeks at the club. He endured spells in and out of the team - he is still just 17, after all - but was in the line-up for the games that mattered, and finished the season on a strong run of form.

He finished his debut campaign in the top-flight with 29 appearances in all competitions, and contributed three goals to the cause.

Watch Bergvall, and the first thing you will notice is his agility on the ball. The 17-year-old truly makes the game look easy, gliding through midfield and breaking lines with his dribbling ability. He is surprisingly strong for his age, too, and doesn't often get pushed off the ball.

In Djurgardens' system, Bergvall is the all-action midfielder, and covers ground accordingly. He is found sprinting up and down with regularity. But unlike a glut of young midfielders, Bergvall knows how to time his runs - especially when going forward. He will never be a prolific goalscorer, but he has mastered the Frank Lampard-esque late dart into the box, and he's also a tidy finisher when he gets there.

Bergvall is positionally intelligent, but will have to adapt to the modern demands of high-level midfielders and improve his defensive game. While he occupies spaces well, he doesn't quite have the discipline to plug holes like top players in his position. That's something that tends to come with experience, as well as reliable coaching. It is vital that Bergvall gets that kind of attention when he makes his next move.

There's also something to be said for his goalscoring record. While he is not a natural finisher, he could certainly provide a few more goals from midfield.

There are a number of interesting reference points for Bergvall. A popular one, especially among the Spanish media, has been Andres Iniesta. And there's some of Iniesta to be found here, as both are silky-smooth on the ball, diligent runners, and a delight to watch.

But Iniesta might, with all due respect, be too lofty of a goal for a 17-year-old who is yet to play a game in one of Europe's big five leagues. Perhaps a more apt comparison is Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong. It's uncanny how similar the two look when dribbling, both lanky figures who seem to easily float up the pitch, comfortably corralling the ball while always having their head up. They also share the admirable ability to cover ground, an effortless engine that is invaluable for top-level footballers.

Bergvall will, of course, need to improve to reach De Jong's level. He is not yet a metronomic passer in the middle like the Barca star, but the potential to reach those lofty heights is there.

The start of 2024 has been a busy one for Bergvall, who has been the subject of intense transfer interest. After it initially looked like Eintracht Frankfurt had won the race for his signature, he and his entourage were then spotted meeting Barca sporting director Deco in Spain on Wednesday. Tottenham, however, entered the race in the final hours of the window, and it is they who have agreed to pay an up front fee of €10 million (£8.5m/$11m), with more potentially due in add-ons.

Bergvall will undergo a medical in north London on Friday, and will then head back to Sweden to start the 2024 campaign with Djurgardens, before making his move to England over the summer. Ange Postecoglou is not drowning in midfield options, but it would be a surprise if Bergvall forced his way into the first-team picture right away.

When he does, however, it shouldn't be long before he starts to show exactly why Barcelona were so desperate to sign him, and disappointed to miss out.