Tottenham chief scout hails 'genuine generational talent' Lucas Bergvall

The teenager rejected Barcelona and is now a first-team regular at Spurs

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Tottenham 's head of scouting Robert Mackenzie revealed he and Johan Lange were tracking Flight Radar when nervously waiting to learn whether the club had signed "generational talent" Lucas Bergvall .

It was announced in February last year that Spurs had reached an agreement with Swedish club Djurgarden for Bergvall for around £8.5million.

The 18-year-old officially arrived at Spurs last summer and probably played more football in his first season than even he expected, making 45 appearances in all competitions.

Bergvall was not short of options when leaving Djurgarden, and he travelled to Barcelona along with members of his family to have lunch with the club's sporting director Deco.

There was nothing Spurs could do but wait for Bergvall's decision after Barcelona's pitch, as Mackenzie and Lange, now Spurs' sporting director, attempted to keep tabs on the situation.

Lucas Bergvall and Spurs manager Thomas Frank

Bradley Collyer/PA Wire

“I remember me and Johan were on Flight Radar looking at whether his flight was actually taking off from Barcelona," Mackenzie told the TGG podcast.

"You were like, ’Is he on that plane? Is he going back or is he just going to stay and sign?’

“Because let’s be honest, the normal timeline if you go visit somewhere (like Barcelona) you would be going to stay there and sign. I remember we were that excited and invested in it that we were like, ‘Is he on that plane?’ And then checking the WhatsApp messages and going, ‘They’re on one tick.’

“Because you’re like, ‘If he gets back to Stockholm, we’ve got a real chance here, because you don’t go there if you’re just gonna sign.’ The news then came through that his choice was us."

Credibility is everything and your opinion is all you have as your badge of honour, but [I can say] Lucas Bergvall is a genuine generational talent

Spurs chief scout Robert Mackenzie

Bergvall, who won all three player of the season awards at the end of his debut campaign, was rewarded with a new contract in April, committing his future to the club through to 2031.

He has impressed under Thomas Frank this campaign, too and Mackenzie is confident Bergvall will become a special player.

“With Lucas, here is an unbelievable talent," Mackenzie said.

"I’m very cautious, when credibility is everything and your opinion is all you have as your badge of honour, but I think in the case of Lucas Bergvall here is a genuine generational talent.

"You realise that as soon as you meet him that this is different.”