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Hamburg sporting director Claus Costa has admitted that there is ‘no way’ to keep Tottenham Hotspur loanee Luka Vuskovic for the long term as the Bundesliga side do not have an option to buy.
Vuskovic has had a breakout season in the Bundesliga, after moving on loan from Spurs in the summer to push his development through regular game time.
The Croatian defender, who turned 19 earlier this month, ranks highly for clearances, aerial duels and tackles and won the Bundesliga young player of the month award for January.
His performances have been so good that Hamburg have already begun exploring options to keep him for longer, with the loan deal not containing an option to buy.
Hamburg boss Merlin Polzin expressed hope recently that Vuskovic could be kept at the club beyond the present loan.
Costa though, has struck a more pessimistic note, especially on any chance of a permanent capture, laying out the facts.
“Contractually, there is no chance that he will stay”, Costa was quoted as saying on the Doppelpass program on Sport1.
“It is purely a loan and we have no way to tie Luka to HSV in the long term.”
Vuskovic’s brother, Mario, is also with Hamburg, but the elder Vuskovic is banned until November and Costa hopes that by dangling the carrot of an opportunity to appear with his brother, Luka can be enticed into spending another year at the German club.
Costa said: “Of course, there is this romantic idea that Luka will one day play together with his brother Mario.”
Spurs are currently in a state of flux and it is unclear whether they will be playing in the Premier League next term.
Furthermore, the big clubs have also started taking note of Vuskovic’s performances, with at least a few amongst them said to be ready to test Tottenham’s resolve in the summer.
Vuskovic has scored four times in the Bundesliga, with one particular finish drawing admiration from his team-mate Nicolai Remberg.
Tottenham fell to a chastening defeat at the hands of Arsenal at the weekend, as Igor Tudor and his backroom staff were handed a reminder of the magnitude of the task at hand, if they needed any.