Tottenham Hotspur have started the transfer window well but a wrong decision over one of their most prized young assets could upset the fanbase
After a bright start to the transfer window for Tottenham, the prospect of selling their brightest young defensive prospect Luka Vuskovic to Brighton before he’s even played for the club would be taking a huge step backwards for the future.
Spurs have moved swiftly in the summer window with the addition of both Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi to Roberto De Zerbi’s back line on free transfers. Both experienced defenders will be playing at the World Cup and so will 19-year-old Vuskovic, who has been getting Europe’s biggest clubs talking this season.
The Croatian starred in Germany for struggling Hamburg and played a huge role, despite his age, in keeping them in the top flight. His eye-catching performances earned him a place in the Bundesliga Team of the Year and a spot in his country’s World Cup squad.
With his value shooting up from the £12million Spurs signed him for back in 2023 ahead of Manchester City, to north of £50million, clubs like Barcelona and Bayern Munich began to circle.
“Fantastic! That’s quality. At 18, he plays as if he’s already played in three World Cups,” said German legend and former Bayern midfielder Lothar Matthaus. “When I was 30, I didn’t see what he saw at 18. This player is so intelligent. You rarely find that. How cleverly he played. He’s doing everything right. Something really, really great could come of this.”
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said of Vuskovic: “He’s a great talent. The Bundesliga is a very difficult league to develop as a young central defender. You have to be physically strong. Having a key role at HSV is ideal.”
Former Spurs and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, one of the most decorated players in the game, said of his namesake: “He has a great future ahead of him, he just has to keep going like this.”
When Vuskovic finally arrived at Spurs last summer – as he had to be 18-years-old by EU rules – he played a couple of friendly matches but there was an acceptance from him and the club that he was not ready yet for the Premier League. One concern was his acceleration and pace, which the teenager has been addressing this season by working with former Croatian decathlete Josko Vlasic.
“[Spurs] offered me an option to stay, to play in case of injury or cup matches, but I wanted continuous minutes,” the defender admitted soon after his loan to HSV. “They have Romero and Van de Ven playing there, two of the best centre-backs in the world at the moment.
“I believe in myself, but it’s really difficult to play next to them. I’ve faced them and I realised that I still have to work harder. A lot of work and a little luck, so I’ll be back.”
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The question now is whether Vuskovic will be back? His development this season has been remarkable and the Spurs fans are excited about seeing him finally play for their club. If Barcelona and Bayern want a defender then surely they’re good enough for Tottenham?
Well that depends on De Zerbi and those at the club who have placed so much power in the Italian’s hands. To immediately improve a defence that has conceded 183 goals in the Premier League in the past three seasons alone, the new head coach needs ready-made defenders.
The left-footed Senesi will compete with Micky van de Ven on the left of the centre-back pairing and De Zerbi wants one of his most successful Brighton projects, Jan Paul van Hecke, to bolster the right-hand side. Even with mooted departures for Cristian Romero and Radu Dragusin, that would leave Van Hecke and Kevin Danso on the right, with Ben Davies also able to cover the left after signing a 12-month extension to his contract.
That does not leave much in the way of minutes for Vuskovic in a season without European football. So loaning the teenager out again would, while being disappointing for the player, make sense with De Zerbi desperate to bring in Van Hecke.
Arsenal played the long game with William Saliba’s three loans after they beat their north London rivals to sign the Frenchman in 2019 and Vuskovic, who has a deal until 2030, could follow a similar path, especially if Tottenham offer him a much better contract along with promises about the future.
From Tottenham’s perspective, a loan to Brighton makes perfect sense to get him acclimatised to the Premier League but the Seagulls’ £30million bid for Vuskovic makes no such sense for the north London club other than getting some money off the Van Hecke deal.
It could be seen as a huge mistake down the line. The 26-year-old Dutchman is an excellent Premier League defender but those in the game believe Vuskovic has a higher ceiling and is as important in the opposition box as he is at defending in his own.
Brighton may not want to develop Tottenham’s player for just a season, while including Vuskovic in the deal would mean they would have to pay less money to NAC Breda, who are due 7.5 per cent of any transfer fee for Van Hecke.
For Tottenham, other than making some quick cash at way below the market valuation, there’s little logic to selling one of Europe’s top young talents before he’s even pulled on the club shirt.
A buy-back clause would be useless if Vuskovic decided against returning to a club that had no interest in playing him. This is not like Real Madrid inserting a buy-back clause where the pull to come back to the Bernabeu is always there.
Spurs are determined to get better money from their sales after years of losing players for very little or often nothing, as with Yves Bissouma’s exit this month. However, that does not mean they should entertain this low offer for Vuskovic, especially with the teenager’s value only expected to rise after this World Cup. There is no indication yet of how Tottenham reacted to Brighton’s bid for Vuskovic.
Fixing the north London club for the present is the right way to go this summer but it should not be done through risking the future. One can be done alongside the other.
