Tottenham handed transfer boost as Bayern transfer chief distances German giants from ‘outstanding’ defender

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a transfer boost with Bayern Munich distancing themselves from a move for Luka Vuskovic.

The 18-year-old defender is currently on loan at Hamburg from Spurs and has been linked with a move to Bayern.

Getty

The Bundesliga giants were close to signing the Croatian centre-back before he joined Tottenham.

He was actually offered to Bayern in 2023, but they decided not to make the move.

Instead, Spurs signed him later that year, and he is now thriving out on loan.

Vuskovic has become a key part of the Hamburg team.

The Croatian has been named Rookie of the Month for January, and statistically, he is very impressive.

Across the whole Bundesliga, Vuskovic is second for clearances, second for aerial duels, and fourth for blocks.

He is proving to be a stellar defender and, speaking in Germany, Bayern’s director of sport, Max Eberl praised Vuskovic, but also indicated they wouldn’t be making a move for him any time soon.

He said: “First of all, we have to solve our ‘internal transfers’ [extensions]. When that’s done, then we have a high quality defence.

“That doesn’t mean Vuskovic isn’t a good player. He’s 18, is playing an outstanding season at HSV, he belongs to Tottenham.

“But FC Bayern also have very high quality centre-backs with Jonathan Tah, [Dayot] Upamecano, [Kim] Min-jae – and we also have [Hiroki] Itō and [Josip] Stanisic who can play there.

Getty

“So, we can’t just sign every good player that people say we should sign. He’s a very good player, no doubt about that.

“But as I said, first we have to solve the internal transfers.”

Vuskovic: The future

Vuskovic cost Spurs £12million, but he is proving to be well worth it, and looks to have a spot in the Spurs defence in the future.

Micky van de Ven has been linked with Liverpool, while Cristian Romero consistently calls out the Tottenham board, so it would be fair to say that their futures are not guaranteed.

This would open up a space for Vuskovic to come back and start for Tottenham.

And European football expert Andy Brassell believes that Vuskovic is better than new Liverpool signing Jeremy Jacquet and that Spurs need to be careful.

Getty

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, he said: “Vuskovic looks better than Jacquet, I think it’s fair to say. Everything about him is so incredibly convincing.

“Tottenham have got an option, I suppose, of course, there will be people who say, ‘Well, they’ve already got [Pedro] Porro and [Destiny] Udogie, so they can bring Vuskovic back and play Vuskovic, Romero, [Micky] Van der Ven.’

“A lot of this depends on where Tottenham are at the end of the season, whether Thomas Frank is still there, and whether they’ve managed to qualify for Europe again.

“There are so many question marks over where Tottenham are sports-wise at the moment, but they do have options with Vuskovic.

“Obviously, every Spurs fan who’s been watching him from a distance thinks, ‘We want that guy on our team,’ not just because he’s very accomplished already, but because of that leadership, I think.

“And it’s something that it feels that Tottenham are lacking at times.

Shutterstock Editorial

“I guess the options are, A, integrate him into a three, B, sell Romero while you can still get elite value for him.”