Sporting director blows Barcelona transfer cover

Stuart Telford

• 16 Dec 2023 11:48 CST
• 3 min read

Barcelona are scouting Swedish wonderkid Lucas Bergvall, as confirmed by the 17-year-old's current employers Djugardens…

Bergvall joined Djugardens from Brommapojkarna for just €900,000 last January and quickly cemented his place in their first team, racking up 29 appearances across all competitions in 2023.

At 6'1" and with the ability to break the lines with the ball at his feet from central midfield, comparisons with Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong are perhaps inevitable, but the Blaugrana could be forgiven for wanting to keep a lid on their interest.

The Catalan giants remain more than €1 billion in the red, but have restructured their debt such that they can make signings - although the need to keep transfer fees down is more pronounced that at most other top clubs.

But Djugardens have no interest in that particular dynamic, and their sporting director Bo Andersson going public with Barcelona's interest.

'Some contact' with Barcelona

"Yes, I can confirm that we've been in contact and in dialogue with Barcelona," he told Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen. "But it's not a negotiation yet. There was some contact with Barcelona last week but this week we haven't spoken to them."

Bergvall is already a Sweden U21 international playing four years ahead of the curve, and his transfer value has increased to €1.3m per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, but significantly more might now be required to sign him.

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet previously predicted that Bergvall would become Djugardens' "biggest transfer ever." Their record sale was Marcus Danielson's €5m move to Dalian Professional in 2020.

He could fetch significantly more if further reported interest from Manchester United, Inter Milan, Atalanta, RB Leipzig and Rennes is to be believed, with a bidding war now far more likely to ensue.

Three Swedes have previously played for Barcelona in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrik Larsson and Patrik Andersson.