Tottenham Hotspur supporters were hopeful that they could avoid losing Luka Vuskovic, but ever since Brighton showed an interest in stealing away the top prospect from Spurs after the latter signed Jan Paul van Hecke from them for 60 million euros, the Croatian international seemed smitten with the idea of joining forces with Fabian Hurzeler on a different Premier League team.
Now, Spurs could have convinced Vuskovic to stay, but the young man was uninterested in being a backup. Brighton give him a chance to start immediately, and, now, Vuskovic is as good as gone, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that Brighton have agreed to a 50 million pound sale.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from the move.
Winner: Jan Paul van Hecke
Jan Paul van Hecke is the most obvious winner, because without Tottenham Hotspur believing in him enoguh to spend 60 million euros on him despite an expiring contract, we would not even be having this conversation about Luka Vuskovic. Van Hecke is a clear starter for the present and future at Tottenham, and Roberto De Zerbi never wavered on his signing, not even when Vuskovic threatened to leave.
Loser: Hamburg
Hamburg are actually bigger losers than Tottenham from the Luka Vuskovic sale, because it actually looked like for months that Vuskovic wanted to stay with Hamburg on loan to play with his brother. But the minute his camp got into his head about playing for Brighton and starting for them as a stepping stone to Barcelona, all that talk about brotherly love went away.
Winner: Kota Takai
One prospect is gone, but that could be another boost for a different prospect. Because while Luka Vuskovic was a Player of the Season candidate at Hamburg, he was not the only great young center back on loan from Tottenham to the Bundsliga. Quiet summer 2025 signing Kota Takai from the Japanese league was fantastic for a terrible Borussia Monchengladbach team, and now his path to the first team in the future is clearer without Vuskovic.
Loser: Luka Vuskovic
Going from Tottenham to Brighton is a downgrade, and anyone who doubts that should ask Jan Paul van Hecke. Vuskovic gave up on a promising project under Roberto De Zerbi over a tantrum over playing time and dreams of using his next club as a stepping stone to Barcelona or Real Madrid, but he was so good for Hamburg that those clubs were already looking at him. Vuskovic will now play for Brighton with a less relevant parent club and a less conducive environment to his success than Hamburg.
Winner: Roberto De Zerbi
Roberto De Zerbi gets what he wants. He wanted Jan Paul van Hecke. He didn't think Luka Vuskovic was ready, not did he seem too high on Vuskovic, given he did not try hard to convince the player to stay. Tottenham are backing De Zerbi no matter what, even if that means selling off one of their top prospects.
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