Brighton & Hove Albion have agreed to sign Luka Vušković from Tottenham Hotspur in a deal worth up to £50 million.
Tottenham will receive an initial fee of £46 million, with additional payments potentially increasing this to £50 million. They will also retain a 20 percent sale clause, as well as related rights to any potential future sale.
Vuksovic, 19, is currently competing in the World Cup with Croatia, which plays Portugal on Wednesday. After the completion of the World Cup, the central defender will undergo a medical examination.
Athletic On 19 June, it was reported that Brighton had made an improved offer for Vuskovic, after previously making a bid of £30 million ($39.7 million).
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Spurs and Brighton have already struck a deal this summer, with centre-back Jan Paul van Heck swapping the south coast for north London for £52m.
Van Hecke joins a contingent of Spurs centre-backs that includes fellow new signings Marco Senesi, Mickey van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Christian Romero and Radu Dragusin. Spurs felt they could not offer Vuskovic the first-team minutes he desired.
Vuskovic spent last season on loan at Bundesliga club Hamburg, where he made 30 appearances in all competitions and scored six goals. He has five years remaining on the Tottenham contract he signed after officially joining the club last summer. Vuskovic, who has not yet played for Spurs, agreed to join the north London club from Hajduk Split for £12 million ($16 million) in September 2023, although the move did not become official until he was 18 years old.
Meanwhile, Brighton have already completed a deal for one centre-back, with Pascal Struijk joining from Leeds earlier this week.
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Analysis by football writer Seb Stafford-Bloor
It’s natural to ask why. Tottenham pulled off a coup by signing one of the greatest centre-back prospects of the new generation, but he left 18 months later before he had even played a game for them.
But there is some meaning here. Judging by Spurs’ summer transfer activity, which included two new centre-backs in Van Hecke and Senesi, it is clear that Vušković will miss playing time. And since the player wants to remain in the starting lineup (as he was in Hamburg) and does not crave a further loan, a move to a club of Brighton’s caliber, where there is a vacancy in defense, is far from illogical.
Agreeing to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for around £85 million and with further signings planned, it is also a valuable deal for Spurs.
But there are some questions. Vuskovic has so far felt most comfortable in a back three, while Fabian Hurtzeler’s Brighton played almost exclusively with a back four last season. How will it work? Likewise, Vušković’s lack of acceleration was noted in the Bundesliga, and although he has worked on this deficiency and is still very young, Premier League speed will require further adjustment.
But what a prospect. He could be one of the most physically dominant teenage defenders modern football has seen and he wouldn’t have to struggle with that aspect of English football at all. It’s also not hard to imagine him reaching the very top of the game in the next few years for significantly more money than Brighton are paying now.