Ange Postecoglou admits he is impressed with how quickly one Tottenham youngster is learning and revealed that he is in contention to get his first Premier League start of the season against Southampton.
Lucas Bergvall has not had the easiest of starts to life at Tottenham, but that should not come as a surprise, given the size of the jump that Swede made in the summer.
However, over recent weeks, the teenager has impressed every time he has come off the bench, including in the second half of the Europa League clash against Rangers.
Spurs fans will be hoping that the youngster can now build on his recent performances and potentially even stake a claim for a starting birth.
In contrast to the nervous and clumsy Bergvall we witnessed at Rams Park earlier this season, the youngster seemed a lot more confident and self-assured at Ibrox on Thursday.
Postecoglou pointed out that the midfielder was always going to have a steep learning curve at this level and admitted that he is excited about the way how he and Archie Gray are developing.
When the Spurs boss was asked about Bergvall’s struggles earlier in the season, he told Football.London: “Yeah, look and that’s not unusual. He’s 18. You throw any 18-year-old into Galatasaray away and I would be very surprised if they take to it like a duck to water, but that is part of the process. Exposing them to that and you see how they react.
“He has reacted really well and understood, ‘it is a big game, big atmosphere, I need to do things a little bit differently,’ and he’s adjusted, worked hard at training and I think he’s made a real impact in the last two games; he has come on with his calmness and better understanding of the way we want to play.
“That is what you want in 18-year-olds – progress. It is not going to all be perfect, he is still going to have difficult moments because he is 18, the same with Archie; but I still think when you see within that process, how they tackle those challenges and how they then use them to improve, it’s exciting.”
Spurs are heading into the clash against Southampton with a number of key players injured.
To add to Postecoglou’s woes, Yves Bissouma has also joined Rodrigo Bentancur in the suspended list after the Mali international picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Chelsea.
That leaves the Tottenham head coach with a big dilemma when it comes to his midfield and he admitted that Bergvall and Gray could be in line to start.
Speaking about Bergvall, Postecoglou said: “He has done really well and obviously with Biss and Rodri out, he is definitely in the picture for us to use at the weekend. He will definitely play, whether he starts or comes on.
“Yeah, really pleased for him that with him and Archie, we have got two 18-year-olds who feel like they can contribute in a meaningful way, which as I said before is exciting.”
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