The transfer window may be shut but Tottenham are still doing business with a deal for young defender Luka Vuskovic close. At just 16, the Hajduk Split player is clearly one for the future. Here are all the details of the Luka Vuskovic Tottenham transfer.
Vuskovic has already made quite an impression for his hometown club. He made his professional debut at the age of 15 earlier this year, playing the full game in Hajduk’s clash with bitter rivals Dinamo Zagreb. He went on to make 8 appearances in the Croatian League last term and became his club’s youngest ever goalscorer in a cup win over NK Osijek.
The emergence of Vuskovic has not gone unnoticed with a host of top European clubs including Man City, PSG and Bayern Munich reportedly interested in the teenager. However Spurs appear to have won the race with the centre-back set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar as Croatian players to have represented the North London club.
Luka Vuskovic Tottenham transfer – Full details
EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham are on the verge of signing Croatian CB top talent Luka Vusković! 🚨⚪️🇭🇷 #THFC
After top project for his development, Vusković only wants Spurs — despite interest from 5 more top clubs.
Personal terms agreed, clubs finalising paperwork.
Here we go ✨ pic.twitter.com/l8eNWvbiwn
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 10, 2023
It has been widely reported that personal terms have already been agreed between Tottenham and Vuskovic. This will be the first big contract that the 16 year old has signed given he only graduated from the Hajduk Split youth team this year with his present deal at the Croatian club running until June 2026.
The clubs are believed to be finalising the other terms of the deal. A transfer fee of around £12m has been reported by the Evening Standard but is yet to be confirmed with the suggestion being that the clubs may also be discussing a possible January transfer of Ivan Perisic back to his former club as part of this deal.
However Vuskovic will not immediately move to London and that’s not just because we are outside of the transfer window. The player is expected to continue his development in Croatia before moving to England when he turns 18 which won’t be until February 2025. That means it’s likely we won’t see Vuskovic in Spurs colours until the 2025/26 season at the earliest.
A future star?
Tottenham are reportedly close to an agreement to sign 16-year-old Hajduk Split centre-back Luka Vuskovic. ⚪⏳ pic.twitter.com/amfypMH1Ym
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 11, 2023
It’s still a bit premature to be making firm predictions as to how good Luka Vuskovic is likely to become given he has only made 9 starts in senior club football and is yet to represent his country above Under-17 level.
However it’s clear that his emergence in 2023 has caught the attention of a number of big clubs and Spurs will believe this is a gamble worth taking in terms of paying a relatively large fee for a 16 year old with potential.
Vuskovic has already developed physically at a rate much faster than his peers. He stands at 6 foot 4 inches tall and has already demonstrated his impressive aerial ability in set piece situations in both penalty areas. That level of physicality which should continue to increase over the next couple of years appears to make Vuskovic a good fit for Premier League football in the future.
Having two full seasons to continue to develop in Croatian football before he finally moves to England should enable the young defender to work on other sides of his game. Hajduk don’t have European football this season after a defeat to PAOK in Conference League qualifying but they currently top the Croatian top flight and Vuskovic is likely to get his first taste of European action next season before his move to England.
