Spurs loan watch: Tough fall back to earth for Tottenham loanee

Croatian defender Luka Vuskovic's loan at KVC Westerlo in Belgium has hit its first bump in the road - and it was a big one.

Vuskovic and Westerlo fell to a 4-1 defeat to Gent on Sunday evening as they lost their 100% record to start the 24/25 Belgian Pro League season.

Westerlo had started the season by beating Cercle Brugge 3-0, Mechelen 4-2, and USG 4-3.

Vuskovic had been impressing with his performances, conceding zero goals and even scoring one himself in his first 135 minutes in action for the Belgian side.

But this afternoons game was a crash back to earth for everyone involved.

Gent, despite playing for two hours in their Conference League qualifier as recently as Thursday night, raced out of the blocks and had raced into a 3-0 lead just 32 minutes into the game, leaving Vuskovic and Westerlo shellshocked.

Westerlo were able to pull one back a few minutes before half-time, but that was as good as it got for them, with their hosts putting the gloss on their victory 10 minutes before full-time.

Spurs loan watch: Tough fall back to earth for Tottenham loanee

Despite the heavy defeat, Vuskovic recorded five clearances, one blocked shot, one interception, and one tackle, created one chance, won 3/4 ground duels, had a shot, and drew two fouls.

Other than when he was forced to be substituted at half-time in his second appearance, Vuskovic has played every minute so far so it is good to see him being loaned to a side that will give him regular game time.

The game will have been a good learning curve for Vuskovic and his counterparts and they will surely use this to improve their performances going forward.

After the loss, Westerlo lost their spot at the top of the table but still remained second, just one point behind current leaders Anderlecht and with only one worse goal difference (-3) despite the battering at Gent.

Next up for Vuskovic and KVC Westerlo is a home game against OH Leuven on Saturday, with kick-off being 17:15 GMT.