Brighton reignite talks over Tottenham wonderkid with £45 million bid

Brighton have gotten off to a strong start to the transfer window, as they secured a huge fee for their longtime defender, Jan Paul van Hecke, who made the move to North London with Tottenham following the Lilywhites' bid of £52 million. That fee made it certain that the Seagulls made quite a profit off their initial €6.5 million fee to NAC Breda back in the 2020/21 campaign when the English side acquired the Dutchman.

This has left a hole in the South Coast side's backline, which could lead them to explore their options in the transfer window, with one of their desired players being Luka Vuskovic from the club they just sold their former defender to.

The Croatian wonderkid has been the target of interest from the Seagulls for some time now, with the South Coast recently getting transfer talks going, as they submitted a bid of £30m, which was subsequently rejected by the Lilywhites.

It appears, however, that Brighton remains interested in acquiring the young Croatian, as they have found their way back to Tottenham with another offer, according to a recent report.

The Seagulls' improved bid

As explained by Fabrizio Romano, Brighton have launched an improved bid totaling £45 million towards Tottenham, which is a £15 million step up from where they were during their first time around for the Croatian. When Brighton's initial fee was rejected, it was with the Lilywhites' hopes of receiving a higher bid for Vuskovic, but the desired amount wasn't disclosed across the various reports.

If Tottenham are to accept the offer from Brighton, it would give Vuskovic what he wants as he desires playing time at the higher level, with the wonderkid being rather discontent in North London at the moment, according to recent reports.

The Croatian's desired playing time comes after a season in which he played a big role in Hamburg's mid-table finish in the German top flight, recording 44 interceptions and 18 won tackles across a total of 30 matches.

It's worth noting that Brighton and the footballing world will have their eyes glued to Croatia's schedule at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, given that Vuskovic was named to the camp, which resulted in him making his debut in the global spectacle during his national team's opening match against England.

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