Paul O’Keefe has shed light on whether he thinks Tottenham Hotspur could accept Brighton’s offer for Luka Vuskovic.
While Brighton and Tottenham had been locked in talks over Jan Paul van Hecke over recent weeks, there was a shock development this morning as the South Coast club made a move for one of Spurs’ young starlets.
According to various reliable sources, the Seagulls have now submitted a £30m offer to sign Vuskovic, who sees Brighton as one of the best clubs for developing young talent.
This comes just a few days after Gianluigi Longari revealed that the 19-year-old centre-back is open to leaving Spurs this summer without playing a single game for the Lilywhites.
Tottenham expected to turn down Brighton’s opening offer for Luka Vuskovic
Losing the Croat to another Premier League side would come as a shock to Tottenham fans, many of whom expected Vuskovic to have a key first-team role next season under Roberto De Zerbi after his outstanding loan spell at Hamburg.
Tottenham insider Paul O’Keefe has now assuaged the fears of Spurs supporters by making it clear that there is no chance of the Lilywhites accepting Brighton’s £30m offer.
He also asserted that the North London club will not make a decision on Vuskovic until after the World Cup.
O’Keefe said on X: “We aren’t going to take 30m and we are very unlikely to do anything with Luka until post World Cup.”
Could Vuskovic be a part of the deal to bring Jan Paul van Hecke to Spurs?
Reports indicate that Van Hecke is moving ‘closer and closer’ to Tottenham, who could finalise the signing of the Dutchman before Sunday.
Voteball international journalist Joost Blaauwhof has put forward the possibility that Vuskovic could be used as part of the deal to bring the Netherlands international to Spurs.
He explained that such a deal would allow Brighton to reduce the sell-on that they would have to pay to Van Hecke’s former club, NAC Breda, but O’Keefe dismissed that claim.
Responding to Blaauwhof, the Spurs insider wrote on X: “A club cannot simply use a player swap to avoid or reduce a sell-on clause. In transfers, third-party sell-on clauses entitle the former club to a percentage of the actual financial value or total fee realised from a subsequent sale. It’s treated as two separate transactions.”