The seemingly impossible task of replacing Elliot Anderson has begun for Nottingham Forest.
Since Anderson arrived from Newcastle United two years ago, for £35million, Forest have not signed a holding midfielder on a permanent deal.
Only Douglas Luiz and James Ward-Prowse arrived on loan in that time, making 14 starts between them and returning to their parent clubs by January.
But with Manchester City bidding and rivals Manchester United interested in the England international, Forest have identified 20-year-old Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall as a potential replacement for Anderson.
Bergvall, who is at the World Cup with Sweden, would arrive with similar positional uncertainty to Anderson but has the attributes and Premier League experience to slot into Forest’s midfield neatly.
They cannot attempt to replace everything Anderson brings, but Bergvall’s traits fit those they will miss the most, and would complement his potential midfield partner Ibrahim Sangare well.
In their successful partnership, Anderson was the all-action, box-to-box option, where Sangare was the calming influence, working together in triangles with Morgan Gibbs-White ahead of them.
Bergvall’s ball-carrying traits mirror those of Anderson, a player who can wriggle out of tight spaces and works hard off the ball. Bergvall has averaged 2.98 take-ons per 90 in the last two league seasons with a 50 per cent success rate; Anderson was 2.8 at 49 per cent.
This passage of play from Spurs’ 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in 2025 shows Bergvall’s ability to drive into space.
Bergvall receives the ball on his weaker left foot, under pressure from Nico Gonzalez.
He shifts the ball onto his right foot and breaks past Gonzalez.
He progresses Spurs 10 yards and creates two passing lanes.
In 2025-26, Anderson averaged 89.3 touches and 64.4 pass attempts per 90, with a completion rate of 86 per cent. Bergvall, across varying positions and over the last two seasons, has averaged 60.4 touches and 41.2 pass attempts per 90, with a success rate of 87 per cent.
His physicality is similar too, something he developed during his time at Tottenham, affectionately described as a “lump” by team-mate James Maddison in 2025.
Bergvall is not the finished article, though. He has not looked comfortable dropping deep and receiving the ball off the back four, a job Forest’s midfield duo shared.
Sangare and Anderson excelled at firing the ball forward into Gibbs-White with regularity, with 14.4 and 15.8 lines broken per 100 passes for the past season, compared to Bergvall’s 9.2.
Anderson’s involvement was more in his own half and tended to drift left.
Bergvall operated more to the right and wasn’t required to be as involved in build-up play.
Forest are no strangers to signing young players with desire to prove themselves, and have a track record of providing an environment for them to flourish.
Nobody shows that more than Gibbs-White, who swapped Wolverhampton Wanderers for Forest in 2022 to shake the thinking he would always be that “kid from the academy.” He has since become their captain, had 71 goal involvements and been nominated for the Premier League’s player of the season award.
Callum Hudson-Odoi signed from Chelsea at 22 and is now a regular starter, and Anthony Elanga was 21 when he arrived from Manchester United. He gained confidence and conviction in front of goal before departing for Newcastle last summer, Forest making £37m profit on the £15m spent on him in July 2023.
Anderson failed to nail down a starting place at Newcastle and, when he arrived at Forest, played off the wing and across the midfield until consistent minutes as a holding player.
Bergvall faces a similar quandary. He won Spurs supporters’ and players’ player of the season in 2024-25 operating as the more forward-thinking option of a holding midfield duo but struggled to build on that last campaign.
Despite making 33 appearances, he only started four matches in 2026 (but did miss two months with an ankle injury) and his best position has remained blurred. He has operated as a No 6, No 8, No 10 and even out wide.
Signing a young player fits with Forest’s recruitment model and Bergvall’s two seasons in England means he should not take months to get up to speed.
Pereira brought the best out of Forest’s depleted dressing room and, in Gibbs-White and Sangare, Bergvall would have midfield partners who know the system, and play it well.
The big question, though, is — does he have the quality and discipline to step up in Anderson’s absence?
Where else could he go?
Aston Villa and Newcastle United stand out as teams in need of a squad refresh. They ranked 19th and 15th respectively for average age across their squad in 2025-26 (via Transfermarkt), and have not added enough young or peak-age players in recent years due to struggles with profit and sustainability rules.
There are questions, however, on whether Bergvall immediately improves either team’s starting XI.
Villa’s position, as reported by The Athletic, is that a sale would be necessary for them to sign him. In their midfield department, they have Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Ross Barkley and Youri Tielemans, the latter of whom is entering the final two years of his contract.
While Villa hope to renew Tielemans’ deal, the 29-year-old does have interest from elsewhere. In that reality, Bergvall would come in but only as a replacement for Tielemans or any other midfield exit.
Tielemans has been an integral part of Villa’s success under Unai Emery as a tempo-setter. Among central and defensive midfielders with 900 or more minutes across the last two Premier League seasons, his 19.3 lines broken per 100 pass attempts ranks first.
Bergvall has not shown a similar passing arsenal, preferring short exchanges to circulate possession and relying more on his dribbling. Only Maddison, Tottenham team-mate Dejan Kulusevski and Tijjani Reijnders, of Manchester City, among central and defensive midfielders, have attempted more take-ons (2.98 per 90) than him since 2024-25.
Bergvall’s playstyle map from 2024-25, when he played 1,206 league minutes compared to 966 under four different managers in 2025-26, shows a midfielder who excels at retaining the ball and relishes snapping into tackles in the middle third. He has not yet developed into a passer and deep-lying playmaker like Tielemans or an attacking midfielder who creates and scores regularly.
In Kamara, Villa have a player who can take on the Tielemans’ role, having averaged 15.5 lines broken per 100 attempts since 2024-25. The 26-year-old has been sidelined with a knee injury since January.
Bergvall, who is of a similar mould to Onana, would prove a complementary partner for Kamara when he returns, while bolstering Villa’s depth before a return to the Champions League.
It is a similar story at Newcastle.
Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali have formed Eddie Howe’s first-choice midfield trio for the last three seasons. In 2025-26, Guimaraes and Joelinton missed time with injury, making fewer than 30 Premier League appearances. Tonali’s future at St James’ Park is uncertain, with The Athletic reporting on June 20 that Tottenham have opened talks with Newcastle about signing the 26-year-old Italy international.
As is the case with Tielemans, Bergvall has not yet shown that he can be a Tonali replacement. While he has had a handful of minutes for Spurs as a No 6, he is at his best in a more advanced role. He profiles better as a replacement for Joelinton due to his athleticism, tenacity and dribbling ability.
The Athletic reported on June 12 that Joe Willock, with one year left on his contract, is likely to depart too. Willock is a similar profile to Joelinton and has stepped in for the Brazil midfielder as a No 8 when required.
Bergvall, six years younger than Willock and nine years Joelinton’s junior, would provide more future upside. Regular minutes, having played only 32 per cent of the team’s league minutes in two seasons at Spurs, and injury luck (14 games missed due to concussion and ankle and groin issues) will be key.
