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.