Luka Vuskovic’s first words after joining Tottenham in club record transfer
The teenager has put pen to paper to confirm his move to the north London club and he has been discussing his switch to the Premier League club
Luka Vuskovic has signed for Tottenham Hotspur from Hajduk Split and will arrive in 2025
Tottenham Hotspur have swooped to sign highly-rated Croatian teenager Luka Vuskovic in a £12million deal from Hajduk Split and the youngster said he is “honoured” to make the move to the Premier League side.
The 16-year-old was being tracked by major clubs across Europe, including Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and PSG with City reported to have put in a £10million bid with £2million in add-ons for his services that was rejected. Now Spurs have snapped up Vuskovic in a £12million deal that Hajduk have described as the biggest outgoing transfer in their history and what they claim has made him the most expensive 16-year-old defender in the history of football.
Due to FIFA rules, Vuskovic will have to wait until he can arrive in England in 2025 when he is 18-years-old and he has signed a deal which will run until 2030. football.london understands that for now the teenager has returned to Hajduk.
The big 6ft 4ins centre-back is seen as one of the most gifted talents of his generation and has been touted as the future of Croatian football. He has already made 11 appearances for Hajduk’s first team, despite his age.
Vuskovic made his professional debut just two days after his 16th birthday in February this year to become the youngest player to feature in the Croatian top flight. He then scored his first goal the following month in a cup quarter-final against NK Osijek, to write his name into Hajduk’s history as their youngest-ever goalscorer.
“First of all, I want to thank Hajduk for making this possible for me, the coaches who contributed to my development, the people from the academy, all the employees of the club,” Vuskovic said in a Hajduk interview after his move was confirmed.
“In the past months, I was aware of the interest of big clubs from abroad, and I tried to stay on the ground, train and prepare for new challenges.
“It is a great honour to see that a club like Tottenham has shown such a desire and put in so much effort to bring in a player of my age. This makes me proud, and it is certainly a motive for me to work even harder on my development and further progress in order to be as ready as possible for the moment when I will play for their first team.”
Vuskovic later added on his Instagram page: “It is a great honour and privilege to be part of this great club. I will work and train hard to play for Tottenham one day.”
