Tottenham centre-back Luka Vuskovic is pushing to start for Croatia in their World Cup opener against England in Dallas on Wednesday
Tottenham gem Luka Vuskovic cannot start for Croatia against England. That's the verdict of experienced Croat coach Ilija Loncarevic, who has gone against the grain and indicated the teenager's development needs to be managed despite an eye-catching loan spell with Hamburg.
Brighton have already lodged a £30million bid for Vuskovic and now he could be tasked with stopping Harry Kane on his World Cup debut in Dallas next week.
Loncarevic has concerns, however, telling newspaper Sportske Novosti: "The World Cup will be good for him, he will play some but he is not a player the national team should depend on.
"You can't be a stopper if nine out of your 10 interventions are not clean or the jump is not a good one or you are late to the duel.
"He has to solve that and he will solve it if Tottenham pulls him into the Premiership."
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Vuskovic is known for his goalscoring prowess from set-pieces but there is still doubt as to whether Roberto De Zerbi is ready to thrust him straight into Spurs' first-team.
Loncarevic thinks he needs to prove himself in the Premier League first before he becomes a cornerstone of the national team's backline.
The 81-year-old ex-Dinamo Zagreb boss continued: "He needs to come to England and see where he is, Germany is a weaker league after all. A defender's career cannot be judged by his performance in attack and goals.
"I watched him at a younger age and he had problems in the last phase of defence, with duels, recognition and high balls, and it is impossible for us to go against the English with such a young stopper."
Tottenham are facing a big call on Vuskovic's future as Brighton's interest is linked to Spurs' pursuit of Jan Paul van Hecke.
The former wants to play regularly following a barnstorming loan in Germany but Roberto De Zerbi is already stacked with options at the back and may favour another loan.
Brighton are said to have made inroads with Vuskovic and his inner circle as they are prepared to provide assurances of minutes and can offer him a clear pathway to develop.
Another loan would potentially only cause Vuskovic further uncertainty at Tottenham, particularly if they land Van Hecke on top of signing Marcos Senesi on a free transfer from Bournemouth.