On Sunday evening, Spurs loanee Luka Vuskovic and his KVC Westerlo side were in Belgium Pro League action, as they faced OH Leuven away from home, for match day 28 of the season. Unfortunately, Alfie Devine was again missing through injury for this one.
In a tough, physical game, Westerlo could not get the win that their position in the league really could have done with — but from Vuskovic’s point of view, it certainly was not for the want of trying — putting in an incredible performance.
Luka Vuskovic shows why there is so much hype around his name
Throughout the game, the Croatian youngster recorded; six clearances, including one off the line, two blocked shots, three interceptions, 60 touches, one chance created, 10/10 accurate long balls (!), 10/11 aerial duels won (!), seven ball recoveries, one shot on target, zero fouls committed, two shots off target, and 1/1 successful dribble attempts.
So far this season, Vuskovic has had multiple top class performances, both defensively and offensively, but this was surely the best of the lot. 10/10 accurate long balls, whilst winning 10/11 aerial duels. Supreme defensively and on the ball. An absolute monster performance from a seriously talented player.
Said it a number of times before, but it really will be interesting to see what happens with him next season. The assumption before was that he would get a loan to a side in the top five leagues, but perhaps how he will become part of the Tottenham Hotspur first team — particularly with how many games Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero miss every season.
Nevertheless, there is no rush. At eighteen years old (and only just), there is so much time on his side. It is perhaps unrealistic to expect someone of that age to be able to play regular minutes in the Premier League — but he is doing his chances of that absolutely no harm at the moment.
Already a Croatia U21 international, despite being 17 during his appearances — it will be interesting to see whether or not he gets a call up for their upcoming Nations League games against France in three weeks time, where he could link up with former Spurs players Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic.
As for Westerlo, a disappointing result. They remain in the relegation round places, with just two games left to escape. They have 32 points from their 28 games, one point below Dender, who occupy 12th spot, the position Vuskovic’s side need to get to, to avoid the possibility of relegation.
Next up is a home game against Anderlecht and Jan Vertonghen on Sunday, for a 16:00 GMT kick off.