Luka Vuskovic suffered penalty shoot-out heartache on Tuesday evening but there is an upside for Tottenham Hotspur as the talented teenager will definitely now be able to join the club from the first day of pre-season.
The big centre-back is one of the most highly-rated young talents in the European game and will be joining Spurs this summer after turning 18, which he does in February. Vuskovic is a Hajduk Split player although he has spent recent seasons on loan at first Polish side Radomiak and this season at Belgian club Westerlo.
The 17-year-old has started every match for Westerlo this season and has scored four goals in his 14 appearances as well as providing one assist. He currently has a team-mate from Spurs in midfield Alfie Devine who joined the Jupiler Pro League club in September.
Vuskovic has been on international duty this week with Croatia U21s as they took on two qualifying legs against Georgia to decide which country made it through the European U21 Championships this summer.
Croatia lost the away leg 1-0 last week and then on Tuesday evening won 3-2 at home. That forced a penalty shoot-out, with Vuskovic putting away his spot kick. However, it was Georgia who won the shoot-out 7-6 and will take their place at the tournament in Slovakia next summer.
The knock-on effect for Spurs is that the tournament next summer runs from June 11 until June 28 and had Vuskovic and Croatia qualified then he would likely not have been ready to arrive at Tottenham's pre-season training when it begins in early July at Hotspur Way. That is due to the amount of time off that players are required to have after an international tournament - normally a minimum of three weeks.
However, the teenager will now be available to start his first day at his new club the moment the training ground doors open to the first team.
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