“Dominant” spurts on £52 million CB movement

Tottenham Hotspur continues preparing for the 2025/26 campaign to read to play against the League Ones side on Saturday.

Thomas Frank’s side had the second half debut of new signature Mohamed Kudus, who helped out in the goal by defeating the third tier outfit 2-0 that day, creating four opportunities.

The front of the left foot arrived from a teammate of West Ham United on the Premier League side earlier this month, catching eye with an impressive show on the club’s first outing.

Kudus skillfully cut Luka Vrskovic’s ball to wrap the ball in a far-floor corner, but it was his corner that led to Will Lanccia’s goal.

This was an excellent first show by the former Hammerstar star for reading, but he wasn’t the only “new” player to catch the eye, as the scorer in the above post created excitement among Spurs supporters.

Tottenham agreed to sign centre-back from Hajiduksplit in 2023, but had to wait until this summer for official passing.

Why is Luka Voskovic an exciting talent?

Voskovic excited Spurs fans at his performance on Saturday’s reading as the central defender scored and supported the goal from the center of defense.

Supporters may be excited by the 18-year-old’s talent for his performance on loan with Westaro in the Belgian professional league during the 2024/25 campaign.

Incredibly, the teenage defender finished the season with seven goals and two assists in 36 league appearances as centre-back on the Belgian side, suggesting that his offensive exploits on reading are no surprise to anyone who knows his talent.

As you can see from the table above, Voskovic did not tackle or intercept at particularly eye-catching speeds, but he dominated in duels on the ground and in the air.

These statistics are very impressive in terms of his goal output and duel advantage, but Croatia International has yet to prove himself at the top level as he is only once capped in his country and has not played in the major leagues.

Overall, Voskovic is a player whose supporters can be excited about the future, but given his lack of experience at the top level, he may have to be realistic about what his role is in the short term.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are reportedly interested in signing another player to his position that Frank can come as an even greater talent to do the job.

Spurs line up movements for Italian defenders

Journalist Ben Jacobs spoke about the final words of the Spurs podcast, as broadcast by the boy Hotspur.

The reporter said: “Tottenham Hotspur is interested in signing Italian defender Giorgio Scalvini during the summer transfer. The 21-year-old has been highly regarded throughout Europe, and he has been on the radar of multiple clubs this summer.

However, Jacobs did not reveal whether the Spurs are ready to meet Atalanta’s £52 million ask price or if they are likely to take the official Italian international approach, but it appears they are lined up the moves if they decide to act on their interests.

Newcastle United is also tied to interest in the 21-year-old giant, so if they decide to make a move for him, they could face a race for his signature.

If Tottenham can win an agreement with the £52 million rated star Serie A outfit, Frank could have even greater talent than Viskovic.

Why Scalvini is even more talented than Vuskovic

Scalvini is three years older than the Croatian defender, but has already played in the major leagues and has concluded multiple times by Italy at the age of 18.

He made his debut against Germany at the age of 18, closing three times in December 2022 before his 19th birthday, but the centre-back made his debut Serie at the age of 17.

Scalvini played over 50 games for Serie A before turning 20, and has played 89 times in the division so far despite missing 58 games with injuries over the past two seasons.

The 21-year-old star, once described as the “dominant” defender by talent scout Jacek Kulig, proved his quality in one of the major European leagues and was capped eight times by Italy, but Vuskovic played once for Croatia and has yet to play a minute of football in major European leagues.

In fact, as you can see in the above post, Atalanta described him as a “19-year-old veteran” in his second season at the first team level, but he posted some of his impressive highlights while playing as a teenager in Serie A.

Scalvini started 31 games with Serie A in the 2023/24 campaign, then missed most of the previous term through injuries, showing off his defensive qualities with 3.4 tackles per game and intercepts and a 56% duel success rate.

This means he made more than twice as many tackles and intercepts as Voskovic each match while playing in the Belgian professional league last season.

Overall, Scalvini arrived at the Spurs as an even greater talent than the Croatian centre-back due to his quality of his performance in Serie A and his age as well as the Tottenham men, due to his exposure to top-level football nationally and internationally.

Vuskovic may be an incredibly impressive centre-back for the Spurs in the future, but Scalvini is a young centre-back and has proven that he has an immediate impact quality for the future as well.