Credit: Imago

Josh Edwards

Mon 13 April 2026 14:10, UK

Lucas Bergvall was woeful for Tottenham Hotspur in their defeat to Sunderland.

Roberto De Zerbi is already up against it when it comes to trying to keep Tottenham in the Premier League, and the last thing he needs is for Spurs’ usual performers to drop off.

However, in Bergvall’s case, that is exactly what happened, with the Swede eventually hooked at the Stadium of Light.

The 20-year-old has had a solid campaign from an individual perspective, but he struggled massively to influence proceedings against Sunderland.

And with Tottenham at serious risk of relegation, that level of performance is unacceptable.

Lucas Bergvall’s numbers (or lack of) vs Sunderland

Bergvall is so often the focal point of Tottenham’s midfield, with the Swede usually the main connection between defence and attack.

But against Sunderland, he offered quite literally nothing in the 61 minutes he played.

A 70 per cent pass accuracy is average at best, but made to look a whole lot worse when taking into account that he only attempted 10 passes in the game.

Both of his attempted dribbles resulted in him losing the ball, but the main concern stems from his work off of it.

The Swede lost all 12 of his duels against the Black Cats, including a zero per cent win rate from the 11 that were on the ground.

In a De Zerbi team, that lack of physicality is simply not going to end well.

In fact, out of the 19 duels that Tottenham’s starting midfield were involved in, Spurs came out with the ball on just three occasions.

Roberto De Zerbi has clear change to make vs Brighton

Spurs have no time to dwell on yet another defeat, with a clash against Brighton up next, and it could be a crucial one in the relegation battle.

If things are to change, De Zerbi can’t be afraid to make big decisions, and dropping Bergvall for Pape Sarr has to be one of them.

The latter has hardly shone this season, but he completed over double the number of passes that Bergvall did against Sunderland, despite playing half the amount of time.

Spurs need some bite in midfield, and he would bring that.