MANCHESTER UNITED supporters are fuming after realising they missed out on wonderkid Lucas Bergvall.
The 18-year-old Swede netted a dramatic winner as Tottenham beat Liverpool 1-0 in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.
GettyLucas Bergvall netted a dramatic late winner against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup[/caption]
XThe 18-year-old Swede twice had trials at Manchester United[/caption]
XThe club were unable to sign the midfielder when he was 16[/caption]
Bergvall kept his cool late on to fire past Alisson and give under-fire boss Ange Postecoglou a vital victory.
The teenage midfielder signed for Tottenham in a dramatic Deadline Day swoop last January.
Spurs hijacked Bergvall’s deal to Barcelona, signing him for £8.5 million from Swedish club Djurgarden.
But long before his switch to North London, Bergvall TWICE had trials with Man Utd – once aged 14, and another aged 16.
He was loved by scouts at the club – but couldn’t pen a deal at Old Trafford due to Brexit regulations.
Under current Fifa rules, players aged under 18 cannot be sold overseas – except those within the European Economic Area.
As such, the midfielder stayed in Sweden where he starred first for IF Brommapojkarna and then Djurgarden.
Once the wonderkid turned 18, Barcelona came knocking – but it was Spurs who sealed his signature.
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Learning Bergvall was once within United’s grasp, one fan wrote on X: “Shows the administrative failure that the club did not keep relations open with the player and his reps so as to be able to bring him to United once he turned 18.”
Referencing the optimism following Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool, another said with a crying emoji: “Liverpool purple patch over.”
While a third added, captioning a snap of Bergvall in United colours: “[His goal] this evening is proof that karma exists.”
And a fourth said: “Once a red, always a red.”
Bergvall smashed Spurs into a late lead on Wednesday night after putting in a tireless performance.
But Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk was fuming the Swede hadn’t been red carded moments before.
The 18-year-old – already on a yellow – leapt into a tackle and wiped out Kostas Tsimikas.
Referee Stuart Atwell played advantage but didn’t return to book the teenager, while Tsimikas had to leave the pitch for treatment, temporarily reducing Liverpool to ten men.
Tottenham’s top 10 biggest signings: Hit or miss?
1) Tanguy Ndombele – £52.7m
Ndombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham’s transfer record.
But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.
2) Richarlison – £49.3m
Richarlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane’s back-up.
And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.
3) Brennan Johnson – £46.8m
Johnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.
He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.
4) Cristian Romero – £44.2m
Romero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.
He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.
5) James Maddison – £39.4m
Maddison was handed Kane’s No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.
But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness – managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England’s final 26-man squad for the Euros.
6) Davinson Sanchez – £35.7m
Sanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.
But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.
7) Pedro Porro – £34m
Porro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.
He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.
8) Micky van de Ven – £34m
Rapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.
His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou’s best signing to date.
9) Moussa Sissoko – £29.8m
Sissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.
Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs’ 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.
10) Giovani Lo Celso – £27.2m
Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 – a deal that was made permanent the following season.
He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine.
Just minutes later, Bergvall swept in a Dominic Solanke cross to secure a crucial first-leg advantage for Tottenham.
A frustrated Van Dijk said post-match: “It was quite obvious there was going to be a second yellow, it was pretty clear.
“Then a minute later he scores the winner.
“The ref made a mistake and I told him that. It was quite obvious and everyone on the sideline knew it was a yellow.
“He should have been off. There is a linesman, fourth official, VAR and referee and he doesn’t get a second yellow.
“I’m not saying it is the reason why we lost but it was a big moment.”
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