Ex-Tottenham scout reveals the 'one thing' that 'worries' him about Luka Vuskovic

Luka Vuskovic's performance against England at the World Cup may have given Tottenham doubt over his ability to compete at the top level.

That is according to experienced former Tottenham senior scout Bryan King, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider.

England won the game 4-2 last week and the 19-year-old was subsequently dropped for Croatia's 1-0 victory over Panama on Wednesday.

Vuskovic joined Tottenham last summer after he had initially been bought as a 16-year-old from Hajduk Split in 2023.

The defender was loaned out to Hertha Berlin and enjoyed a brilliant season, attracting huge interest from throughout Europe.

Tottenham now risk losing the talented teenager, with Brighton pushing hard to sign him in the coming weeks.

Bryan King left unconvinced by Luka Vuskovic

Vuskovic may have hoped to be returning to Tottenham this summer to take his place in the senior team, but his expectations have been quashed.

On top of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin, the Lilywhites have added Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi to their options, leaving the young Croatian in limbo.

Brighton reportedly bid £45million for the 19-year-old last week and are waiting to hear back, although the player has already made it clear that he wishes to leave.

"There's one thing that worried me a little bit with Vuskovic and that was the game against England. I don't think he performed well at all," King told Football Insider.

"I thought he got took the cleaners two or three times but that was probably generated by the players around him as well. He got caught out of position several times and challenging for balls in the air, he was second best.

"I think he got thrown out a little bit, didn't he, playing against top-quality Premier League players? Well, one of them's a Bundesliga player. But you don't get many better players than Harry Kane.

King added: "Now, if you bring him in and he's gone on loan, and since then he's become a full international. Now, what do you do? You brought in a new centre-half, haven't you?"

Tottenham have made their bed

It is far from a surprise to see Tottenham strengthen at the back after such a dismal season, especially with the likelihood that Cristian Romero will leave the club this summer.

But decision-makers may have guessed that Vuskovic's exit would be a potential side effect of their moves.

Fortunately, £45m is far from a poor consolation prize for a player yet to make a single competitive appearance for Tottenham.

There will be regrets if Vuskovic does go on to reach the heights expected of him, but the Lilywhites have more pressing needs.