Tottenham defender agrees move for next season as attention turns to next arrival
Luka Vuskovic Giovanni Leoni
Future Tottenham Hotspur player Luka Vuskovic has agreed to go on loan to a new league next season, while reports indicate Spurs are eyeing another defender for the future.
Spurs arranged to sign Vuskovic for £12m back in September, but due to his age they are not able to welcome him until next summer. Therefore, he has been continuing to develop elsewhere, first with Hajduk Split – from whom Tottenham have bought him – and more recently on loan in Poland with Radomiak Radom.
With one more season to go before he can become a Tottenham player as an 18-year-old – and amid a necessity for him to step up to a stronger competition in order to gain points towards his work permit – a new move is being organised for Vuskovic.
According to reports, he will be moving to Belgium to spend the 2024-25 season on loan with Westerlo, who came 11th in the 2023-24 Belgian Pro League before missing out on qualification for Europe after the post-season play-offs.
Vuskovic is said to have agreed to the Westerlo move, which will equip him with more experience before he links up with Tottenham.
The Belgian Pro League will be the most competitive division Vuskovic has played in yet, in accordance with UEFA coefficients.
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Tottenham eye next defensive prospect
Vuskovic might not be the only defender Spurs want to nurture for the future, though. According to several Italian newspapers, Sampdoria’s Giovanni Leoni has caught their attention.
Leoni is not 18 yet either until December, but he has built up some experience in Serie B this season during a loan spell from Padova.
Sampdoria have made that deal permanent for €1.5m, but could flip Leoni for a quick profit after deciding to value him at €5m.
It’s claimed that Tottenham are among the clubs keen on snapping up the Rome-born centre-back next, but they are not the leading suitors.
Instead, Torino are currently in pole position for Leoni, while Juventus and Napoli are also keeping tabs on the Italian talent too.
What Tottenham would do with Leoni in 2025 remains to be seen. Like with the Vuskovic situation, they would have to wait until he becomes 18 to register him officially.
Spurs go into next season with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin as their main centre-backs. There is a vacancy for one more in the department, but they will need to be mindful not to block the future pathway of players like Vuskovic and Ashley Phillips, who ended last season on loan at Plymouth Argyle.