Tottenham expert can’t believe Luka Vuskovic deal and is baffled by the fee – ‘Why on earth?
Tottenham Hotspur may end up regretting their decision not to give Luka Vuskovic a chance before signing Jan Paul van Hecke and company.
That is the opinion of former senior Tottenham scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
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The Lilywhites essentially swapped the two centre-backs in the summer, selling the 19-year-old for £50million and buying his replacement for £52m.
Yet the plan had not been to sell Vuskovic – Van Hecke arrived alongside Marcos Senesi at the start of the summer, with the teenager subsequently deciding to leave.
The Croatia international has started well with Brighton, keeping three clean sheets across all competitions and scoring his first goal for the club against Leeds United on Saturday.
Van Hecke on the other hand, has been among the Tottenham players to struggle in the new campaign, which has seen Roberto De Zerbi’s team yet to win a Premier League game.
Luka Vuskovic ‘proved himself’
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Tottenham signed Vuskovic in 2023, reportedly paying up to £12m for the 16-year-old to join the club when he turned 18, in 2025.
Upon his arrival, the defender impressed in pre-season but was sent on loan to Hamburg, where he enjoyed a brilliant campaign, earning a World Cup spot and attracting interest from the likes of Barcelona.
He may have expected to return to a role at Tottenham, but found two new arrivals in his place.
“You’re bringing in a player who’s been playing and is experienced in British football, and you brought a kid in who was 17, 18, sent him out on loan, you bring him back, and I personally think that the kid should have been given a chance, because he proved himself in Hamburg, and he was looking very assured,” King told Football Insider.
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“Why on earth he [De Zerbi] decides to pay £52million without really looking at the boy in any pre-season friendlies? And to be fair to Tottenham, they got a good price back for him.
“So when they can come up with a sum which reflects on the boy who’s been playing, Van Hecke, and the boy who hasn’t been playing in England, nearly or virtually the same kind of money. That seems a strange number for me when somebody hasn’t played in the league.
“But the kid settled in very quickly at Brighton, and Van Hecke’s having problems, which is again due to the chopping and changing of teams, and playing in a side which haven’t exactly started well again – they haven’t scored a goal yet.”
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Having already lost Vuskovic, Tottenham will now reluctantly hope that he continues to progress.
Brighton are known for extracting massive fees from the likes of Chelsea, and any deal they make will see 20 per cent go to the Lilywhites.
That money will not necessarily soften the blow of having lost out on a potentially world-class centre-back and a superb piece of scouting, but it will not hurt.
There is a world in which Vuskovic could ultimately return to Tottenham, but a different manager would likely have to be in the dugout.
Crédito: Link de origem