Whereas Tottenham Hotspur supporters should be celebrating the incoming signing of Brighton star center back Jan Paul van Hecke to the club as a clear sign that new manager Roberto de Zerbi will be backed, they are instead having to worry about the future of their own bigger gem central defender, Croatian international Luka Vuskovic.
As Vuskovic attempts to make an even bigger name of himself at the 2026 World Cup following an insane debut season in Hamburg, teams around world football are getting more and more interested in the teenager, who was easily one of the top five players in the Bundesliga last season even in just his first season as a senior player.
Brighton themselves wanted Vuskovic as a makeweight in the Van Hecke transfer, and while Spurs were able to avoid getting ripped off by the Seagulls, there will be bigger fish like Barcelona and Bayern Munich after the player.
Luka Vuskovic does not want a loan
The solution with Luka Vuskovic should be simple, though. If it is playing time he wants, then loan him again, and he had always said that he wanted to play with Hamburg for another season so he could be with his brother on the pitch - his brother missed the 2025/26 Bundesliga season due to suspension.
Yet it feels like Vuskovic's camp is singing a different tune, and maybe even giving him some bad advice. The Sun's Tom Barclay reports that Tottenham would like to keep Vuskovic and just loan him out, but the problem is that reportedly both the player and his reps do not want another loan.
It sounds like Vuskovic wants to either be a starter at Tottenham or sign somewhere else permanently where he can be a starter. But, well, that stance does not make much sense. Vuskovic has to know that he was never really in line to be an unquestioned starter for Spurs regardless of how well he played for Hamburg last season, and if he wants to play for a massive club like Bayern Munich or Barcelona, they are surely not going to start him immediately either.
Given Vuskovic's talent and upside, it would make no sense to force a permanent move to Brighton either, when he could just be loaned there, if it is regular Premier League playing time he wants. Or he could stay at Hamburg with his brother where he is loved by the fan base. Vuskovic might be getting terrible advice here, and it is becoming much more frustrating for Spurs and the fan base to deal with the mixed messages.
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