Luka Vuskovic may not have joined Tottenham Hotspur were it not for the loose lips of one of his family members.
Spurs signed Vuskovic from Hajduk Split when he was just 16 years of age, and that now appears as an inspired move, given his transformation since then.
The youngster who turned 19 last month is now considered to be one of the best young centre-backs in the world, with the Tottenham centre-back’s value skyrocketing this season in light of his exploits on loan at Hamburg.
However, if it were not for a unique set of accidents, the teenager would be at one of the biggest clubs in the world right now instead of Spurs.
Luka Vuskovic almost joined Real Madrid before Tottenham came calling
It has now been revealed by Hamburger Abendblatt (as relayed by Sport Witness) that Vuskovic was set for a move to Real Madrid from Hajduk Split a couple of years ago.
The defender, his brother Mario, his mother, and his agent had met with Carlo Ancelotti and Luka Modric ahead of a switch to Los Blancos.
It is revealed that ‘everything was poised’ for the Croatian defender to move to the Spanish capital after Madrid offered an initial €6m (£5.1m) plus €6m in bonuses for the youngster.
However, one of Vuskovic’s family members and a lawyer, Tomislav Kasalo, leaked the information about Madrid’s interest at a pub in Split, with the information reaching super agent Pini Zahavi.
Zahavi secured the centre-back as a client and worked out a plan to block the move after securing Spurs’ offer, with Kasalo convincing the Vuskovic family about the transfer.
Vuskovic could leave Spurs without playing a single game
It has been widely reported that Vuskovic is on the radar of many of Europe’s biggest clubs ahead of the summer transfer window, following his brilliant showing for HSV so far.
It has been suggested that the centre-back is not keen on returning to Spurs at the end of the campaign, given the Lilywhites’ current predicament at the bottom end of the table.
Some sources have asserted that Tottenham may entertain bids of around £52m-£61m for Vuskovic this summer.