Newcastle United 'make approach' for Man Utd ‘target’ following club chief’s Barcelona admission

Newcastle United have reportedly made an approach to sign Djurgarden midfielder Lucas Bergvall amid interest from Manchester United. According to reports in Expressen, the Magpies see Bergvall as an ideal acquisition to bolster their academy ranks and are viewed as a potential destination for the 17-year-old.

Bergvall has caught the attention of numerous clubs in Europe with Eintracht Frankfurt, Inter Milan and the Red Devils among those credited with an interest in the midfielder who made 25 appearances in the league for Djurgarden IF last season. Before moving to Djurgarden, Bergvall came through the ranks at IF Brommapojkarna and an academy system that can count Tottenham Hotspur winger Dejan Kulusevski, former Juventus midfielder Albin Ekdal, and former Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres as alumni.

Although reports have suggested that Newcastle have made an approach for Bergvall, his most likely destination is still the Camp Nou. Barcelona have tracked the teenager for a while now and, in December, Djurgarden’s sporting director confirmed that talks had opened with the La Liga giants over a potential deal.

Andersson said: “Yes, I can confirm that we have been in contact and in dialogue with Barcelona. But it’s not a negotiation yet. There was some contact with Barcelona last week but this week we haven’t spoken to them.”

Newcastle United have Bergvall’s fellow countrymen Alexander Isak and Emil Krafth in their first-team squad and are no strangers to scouring Europe for prospects to add to their academy ranks having signed Cathal Heffernan from AC Milan and Yankuba Minteh from Danish side Odense in the summer.