We’ve known it’s been coming for a few weeks, but now it’s official: Tottenham Hotspur’s 19-year-old Croatian wunderkind central defender Luka Vuskovic is heading to the Bundesliga this season, signing a one-year loan deal with Hamburger SV in Germany.
We’ve already talked a couple of times about how good a loan this probably is but it’s worth saying again: Hamburg just got promoted to the top flight, and so
this is a great opportunity for Vuskovic to get another year of seasoning up a significant level from last year. Luka spent last season on loan with Westerlo in Belgium, crushing it and turning a lot of heads. Now he’ll likely play significant minutes in a top-five league against genuinely good opposition. Germany is a good place to go especially if you’re a young defender still polishing your craft. I love this loan and hope he nails down a regular starting role this season.
It appears that Spurs were dragging their feet on finalizing this loan, trying to figure out if they’d go for a reserve central defender this week or just keep Luka around as depth. This is a better move for him, I think. He’s clearly in Spurs’ long-term plans and by going out on a “dry” loan (i.e. no purchase option or obligation) he’ll get invaluable experience that should directly transfer to the Premier League in time.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on Hamburg this season. Good luck, Luka!
