A 19 year old defender who hasn't played a single minute for Tottenham, priced at £60 million.

Brighton sold a center-back, van Hecke, to Tottenham for £52 million. Fixed fee, no add-ons, with a 20% sell-on clause inserted into the contract.

Then, Brighton turned around and shelled out £45 million to chase another center-back from Tottenham.

Seven days, three bids. £30 million, £35 million, £45 million. Tottenham rejected them all.

Tottenham laid their cards on the table: £60 million, not a penny less.

Two Premier League clubs, in the same summer, dipping into each other's pockets, calculating with their account books laid out on the table. And right in the middle of the negotiation chips was Luka Vušković, who hasn't played a single official minute for Tottenham.

Tottenham is speculating.

In September 2023, they agreed on £12 million with Hajduk Split, with a contract until 2030. He was 16 at the time, and FIFA's rules on minor player transfers meant he couldn't officially join the team until 2025. He was sent to Hamburg to develop, playing 28 Bundesliga games last season and scoring 6 goals. A center-back, with a scoring efficiency that outclassed the team's forwards.

The Athletic and Transfermarkt user-voted Bundesliga Team of the Season included him, and he was also in the Bundesliga U21 Best XI. He won the Rookie of the Month award four times. The Goal of the Year was also his – in the North Derby against Werder Bremen, a backheel flick sent the ball into the bottom corner.

In December, he also picked up a Fair Play award. Against Frankfurt, opponent Christensen swallowed his tongue after a collision. Vušković rushed over, pulled the tongue out with his bare hands, and dragged him back from the brink of suffocation.

In the same year, he saved an opponent's life and scored the most beautiful goal of the season. He won 153 aerial duels in the Bundesliga, matching Union Berlin's Querfeld. Croatia coach Dalić directly stated, "He will be the pillar of Croatian football for the next 10 to 15 years."

On March 31, De Zerbi took over with a five-year contract. The former Brighton coach's first move at Tottenham was to push a "ready-now" strategy. Vušković, Bergvall, Tel, Sarr – several young players were all put on the market to make room for more mature faces.

Signing Senesi on a free, signing Robertson on a free, plus the £52 million former player van Hecke, Tottenham's defensive line is already packed.

Vušković can't squeeze into a single spot in De Zerbi's tactical plans. But on Tottenham's balance sheet, his coordinates are extremely precise: bought for £12 million, weekly wages just over £10,000, valued at £60 million. A 5x return. Holding onto him, not selling, waiting for the value to rise.

Agent Pini Zahavi, armed with Squawka data, is pounding tables everywhere – in the 2025-26 season across Europe's top five leagues, Luka Vušković is the only player with over 100 clearances, successful duels, aerial duels won, and ball recoveries. Zahavi, holding Barcelona coach Flick and Lewandowski in his pocket, went to negotiate with Barcelona as early as March, when the valuation was €40 million.

Then June 17th arrived. Dallas, the first group stage match of World Cup Group L, Croatia vs. England.

A global live-streamed audition.

Vušković played 66 minutes. 5 clearances, the highest in the match. 88% pass accuracy. 6 successful duels.

Looking at just this stats sheet, the scouting system would slap an S-tier label on him.

But England's xG was 2.8, Croatia's 0.71. Shots were 22 to 10.

Kane scored a brace in the first half – a penalty in the 12th minute, another in the 42nd. Bellingham added one early in the second half, and Rashford sealed the win in the 85th minute. Croatia ultimately lost 2-4. Three of the four goals conceded happened while he was on the pitch.

After the match, Vušković said into the mic, "This was definitely the most important game of my career. It's a shame about the result."

The player who won 153 aerial duels in the Bundesliga was given a lesson by Kane and Bellingham in his World Cup debut. Five clearances and four goals conceded on the same piece of paper – anyone can see which number is more glaring.

Vušković has already reached a full verbal agreement on personal terms with Brighton. The Evening Standard reports he is ready to submit a formal transfer request to Tottenham.

When Hamburg's season ended in May, he was torn: "I'm very happy Tottenham's promise to me was fulfilled at Hamburg. But I'm also very sad because I really wanted to stay."

Earlier, he publicly pledged his loyalty to De Zerbi: "De Zerbi is a top coach. He likes attacking football and building from the back, which I really like. I hope we can work well together."

De Zerbi does like building from the back. But he prefers van Hecke, whom he personally developed, for £52 million – plug-and-play.

Liverpool is still watching. Barcelona has emptied their pockets on another big deal, but Zahavi hasn't pulled his pieces. Brighton is also negotiating with Leeds for Struijk, and a £20 million verbal agreement has been reached – that's the replacement for van Hecke.

One club sells one, buys one, then buys another replacement.

The other club spent £52 million on a former player, and is now stuck haggling over a £15 million gap between £45 million and £60 million over a 19-year-old who hasn't even played a game.

As of today, Vušković hasn't submitted that transfer request.

Every source uses the phrase "ready to submit."