De Zerbi's Firm Stance on Bergvall's Future at Tottenham

Roberto De Zerbi walked off the pitch in Sydney with a win on penalties and a familiar problem on his hands.

Tottenham had edged past Sydney FC in a preseason shootout, but the real drama came once the football stopped. Asked again about Lucas Bergvall’s future, De Zerbi offered no grand reveal, no decisive line in the sand. Just a clear message about standards – and a reminder that Spurs will not beg anyone to stay.

De Zerbi’s stance on Bergvall: Stay if you’re all in

Bergvall, starting his first match of the tour and still only 20, remains at the centre of a tug-of-war. Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest have already tested Tottenham’s resolve and been rebuffed, yet uncertainty lingers around the Sweden international’s next step.

De Zerbi did not soften his position.

"I would like that he stays with us -- I think he's a potential top, top, top player, but in the end I don't want to convince anyone to stay," he said, leaning into a theme that has run through his early weeks in charge.

This is not a manager pleading with talent. This is a manager drawing a line.

"I think Tottenham is already, without me, a top club, and we are not to convince anyone to stay. I think he can find the space because the competition between the players will be very strong. We are Tottenham and we have to build a strong squad, not just 11 players."

That last point matters. Spurs have carried the scars of recent seasons, when injuries shredded any illusion of depth. De Zerbi knows it.

"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] place on the table, you have to manage 22, 23, 24 players."

The message to Bergvall is blunt but not cold. There is a pathway, but it comes with demands. De Zerbi has invested time already: conversations before the end of last season, talks during the World Cup, and now, finally, proper work on the grass.

"I'm speaking with him before the end of the last season, during the World Cup two times, now we are speaking better now [face to face] without competition in this moment. Now I started to work [with him] like I know, like my style. In the last season, when we prepared the games, we worked on the head, on the mentality, more than the style of play."

The Italian now feels he has a clearer picture of the midfielder he’s dealing with.

"I think his position is very clear for me now also because I needed time to understand the characteristic of the players, but I would like that he stays with us. He's a very young, very good player, good guy, and it's not so easy and so fast to find a young player of that level."

So the door is open. The opportunity is real. But the choice, De Zerbi insists, belongs to Bergvall.

A “precious diamond” in Tonali

While Bergvall’s future hangs in the balance, De Zerbi’s gaze is already fixed on another midfielder who will define this new Tottenham: Sandro Tonali.

The Italian’s arrival from Newcastle has been billed as a statement signing, a record-breaking move that says plenty about where Spurs want to go and who they want to be under De Zerbi. The coach’s description of him left no doubt about the scale of his belief.

"A precious diamond."

That was the phrase, and he returned to it with intent.

"But we have to manage him like a precious diamond. We have to help him to improve in the last decision, as [well] as physical work. He has to work hard to become stronger because this diamond footballer needs to be strong and to give space when there is the right moment."

Tonali will not be rushed, not simply dropped in and told to solve everything. De Zerbi’s track record with young players is one of patience sharpened by high standards, and he made sure to underline that again.

"I usually give time to all my young players I work with in my career, and with his potential, he is a special player."

Between Bergvall and Tonali lies the spine of Tottenham’s future midfield: one still deciding whether to commit fully to the project, the other already anointed as a centrepiece to be polished and protected.

Preseason friendlies in distant time zones rarely shape a club’s destiny. Yet in Sydney, away from the Premier League noise, De Zerbi laid out his blueprint with unusual clarity: Spurs will be built on depth, conviction and talent that buys into the idea, not just the badge.

Now it’s up to players like Bergvall to decide whether they want to be part of that climb or watch it from somewhere else.