Tottenham could end up selling Roberto De Zerbi this summer.
Roberto De Zerbi appears set to sanction the departure of Luka Vuskovic (their second-most-valuable player) this summer as he reshapes his defensive options ahead of his first full season in charge, according to Transfer News Live on X (via football insider), with the Tottenham head coach having identified Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi as his preferred centre-back additions rather than building around the highly rated Croatian teenager.
The report represents a significant and surprising development given the widespread expectation that Vuskovic would return from Hamburg and slot into De Zerbi’s defensive rebuild as one of its cornerstones. European football expert Andy Brassell had urged Tottenham to sell someone else and keep Vuskovic, describing him as a player with the sky as the limit and insisting the club should build the next six to eight years of their defence around him. Those recommendations now appear to have been set aside.
De Zerbi’s reasoning appears to centre on squad numbers and the specific profile he wants alongside his existing defenders. With Cristian Romero’s future uncertain amid Manchester United’s €65 million interest, Micky van de Ven the subject of Liverpool’s watching brief, and Kevin Danso confirmed as staying, the addition of both Senesi and van Hecke would create significant competition and depth at centre-back without requiring a player still completing his development at 19 to contribute immediately at Premier League level.
Luka Vuskovic a financial asset?
The timing is also relevant. Vuskovic has confirmed his own future will not be decided until after the World Cup with Croatia, and De Zerbi may have concluded that a player of his calibre and market value, with Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund all previously linked, represents a significant financial asset that can fund other areas of the rebuild while the defensive unit is constructed around more experienced figures.
The contradiction with Vuskovic’s own words, in which he expressed genuine enthusiasm about the prospect of working with De Zerbi and described the Tottenham head coach as a top-class manager, makes the development all the more unexpected. Whether the 19-year-old will accept being pushed toward the exit after such a remarkable Bundesliga season remains to be seen, but the direction of De Zerbi’s thinking appears to be pointing away from a Vuskovic-centred defensive future.