Tottenham Hotspur’s Luka Vušković insists he will return to the Premier League side after a loan spell at Hamburg SV.
Last summer, the centre-back arrived at the north London club, after Spurs agreed a deal with Hajduk Split in September 2023.
Towards the end of August, Tottenham let him join the Bundesliga on loan and the move has worked out well.
The 19-year-old has been one of the standout players for the German club this season.
Luka Vušković’s Bundesliga stats this season are as follows:
Appearances: 24
Starts: 24
Total minutes: 2,160
Duels won per game: 7.1
Interceptions per game: 1.2
Ball recovered per game: 4.2
Dribbled past per game: 0.2
Clearances per game: 9.1
The Spurs player’s impressive displays have caught the attention of several top clubs like Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Last month, his agent, Pini Zahavi, said no decision will be made on his future until the end of this season.
Luka Vušković changing plans
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung have published an interview with Tottenham’s Luka Vušković to discuss a few topics, including his plans for next season.
“After this season, I’ll be a Tottenham player again. I have a contract there until 2030,” he said.
This was his response to whether he wants to play with his brother, Mario, at the German club next season. The latter is serving a doping ban until November.
In October, the Croatia international said he wants to play with his brother. Two months later, he insisted it’s a “dream” to play alongside with Mario at Hamburg next season.
At that time, he said: “It’s my dream to play alongside my brother at HSV. I would give everything for that. Tottenham know that too.”
Two months ago, Hamburg sporting director Claus Costa explained “contractually, there’s no chance” to extend his stay. Their manager, Merlin Polzin, said he dreams of retaining Luka even though it “seems impossible”.
This could be one of the reasons why the Tottenham owned player calmed a little over his dream of playing with Mario in recent interviews.
Fast forward April and he insist it’s now his long-term goal to play with Mario, maybe even waiting for an end-of-career spell at Hajduk Split.
“In football, you never know. It could happen next year, or in 10 years. I don’t want to promise anyone anything. But it’s my biggest dream to be on the pitch with him here in Hamburg, or later in Split,” Vušković explained.
Tottenham defender on his playing style
FAZ were curious to know whether Luka Vušković’s style is a ‘form of destruction or art’.
Responding to that, he explained: “It all depends on how the player plays. It can be really tough; it can feel like the defender is trying to destroy a striker, he can inflict some really hard fouls.
“But it can also be completely different, without a foul, even without physical contact. If you defend intelligently, you hardly ever have to go directly into a challenge; you focus more on the space where things can get dangerous.
“I’m somewhere in between because I’m not as aggressive as some others, although I’d like to be a bit more so. I’m working on that.”
The Croatian has a lot of room for improvement and has already taken the necessary steps to work on it.
“I know my weaknesses. I’ve been training with a private coach for some time now to work on my speed,” he said.
“As a footballer, you don’t have to be a 100 metre sprinter, but a good start definitely helps. And I’m constantly trying to improve my timing in certain situations. I often act on instinct, but some things just take practice.
“There used to be situations I wanted to anticipate. But sometimes I started too early, and sometimes too late. It’s slowly getting better. This is especially key against fast and skilful strikers. If I know I can’t catch my opponent, it can sometimes help if I take a step forward so he’s offside.”
Relegation must be avoided
Luka Vušković only wanted to talk about next season in Tottenham Hotspur terms.
Despite recent rumours, including claims of interest from Real Madird, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, there were no nods towards a summer transfer.
Should Spurs secure their stay in the Premier League then they’ll have a great project to put to a player considered one of the best young defender in world football. One bright spark for the London club in a very difficult few months.