Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi knew that if he pushed hard to sign Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton that he would end up losing Luka Vuskovic, and that is exactly what happened, as Vuskovic moved to the Seagulls for cheaper than Spurs bought Van Hecke despite having more than a year left on his contract, being younger than Van Hecke, and actuall coming off a much better 2025/26 season than the Dutch international.
Now, that does not necessarily mean Spurs got fleeced or that Van Hecke is a mistake. While Van Hecke has not looked world class exactly for De Zerbi, the chosen son of the Italian manager has been very good in recent weeks, improving greatly from a nightmare Matchday 1 defeat against Brentford by a score of 3-0. And his chemistry with compatriot Micky van de Ven is as strong as advertised.
At the same time, Tottenham would be lying if they did not feel a twinge of regret at missing out on Vuskovic, who was so good for Hamburg in his first senior season at any top level that not only did the historic Bundesliga side stay up, but he was also arguably the third best overall player in the Bundesliga after only Harry Kane and Michael Olise (though Luis Diaz, Joshua Kimmich, and Yan Diomande all had strong cases as well).
Luka Vuskovic is above the average in everything
Now, Luka Vuskovic is tearing it up for Brighton, and Gradient Sports has shared that he is one of only six center backs in the English top flight to grade above the average for their position in all six major categories. That means Vuskovic has been above the average of his peers at the center back position in the Premier League in passing, dueling, clearing the ball, one on one defending, pressure passing, and positioning.
Vuskovic is a young player and was touted at Hamburg for his intelligence, passing, technical quality, and even his ability to score goals. But there were even Tottenham Hotspur fans who were skeptical about his one on one defending and dueling, citing a lack of speed and agility, which was exposed a bit against Premier League stars in the World Cup when Vuskovic struggled against England in Croatia's first match of the tournament.
But in the actual Premier LEague thus far, Vuskovic is showing that he is already ready to be a top center back and is proving it week in and week out. Tottenham underestimated how well rounded Vuskovic would be in the Premier League right now, and maybe they would have pushed harder to keep him if they saw this coming.
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