Home of football statistics and historyBrighton chairman Tony Bloom is known for his hard negotiating skills when other clubs are interested in their players, but this summer he has taken a gamble on a big signing of his own, the 19-year-old centre back Luka Vuskovic.
The Croatian arrived in Sussex for a club record fee of €54.00m. The move came quickly after Jan Paul van Hecke’s departure to Tottenham Hotspur, where Vuskovic arrived from. He came with plenty of hype – Brighton fans were sharing YouTube clips of his ability on the ball as well as his defensive prowess – but will the gamble pay off?
Bloom makes calculated gambles
This isn’t the first time Bloom has spent big on players that most Brighton fans are unfamiliar with. (Vuskovic played for Croatia in the World Cup, but before that only those following the Bundesliga closely would have watched him regularly. He had a breakout season for Hamburg, on loan from Spurs.) It was just last season that Brighton bought Charalampos Kostoulas for €35.00m, and Stefanos Tzimas arrived for €26.50m in the previous season (before being quickly loaned back to Nuremberg, and first playing for Brighton in 2025-26). Both Greek strikers were complete unknowns to English football fans and had barely made their names in senior football.
So Bloom isn’t afraid of a big bet. The man nicknamed The Lizard made his money in sports betting rather than casino games, but as any sports bettor or football chairman knows, there’s more than a little luck involved. That’s true for wins and losses, of course, and Brighton have experienced both in the transfer department. Anthony Knockaert came in for €3.50m, at the time a significant fee in the Championship, and helped the team get promoted. Not many were aware of Alexis Mac Allister before he joined for €8.00m, but the midfielder ended up winning the World Cup with Argentina and did enough to convince Liverpool to spend €42.00m on him (despite his contract nearing its end).
More recently, Yasin Ayari looks at absolute steal at €4.00m. Brighton have played their part in his development, but the Sweden midfielder will either make them a huge profit or be a longtime servant.
Other signings have not been so successful: most fans were disappointed by Matt O’Riley (€29.50m), and going further back neither Alireza Jahanbakhsh (€22.50m) or Jürgen Locadia (€17.00m) justified their price tags. Although it’s too early to write off Georginio Rutter, the number 10-cum-striker has not yet delivered enough goals or assists to warrant a €46.70 million fee.
Vuskovic and the Premier League
Vuskovic is no doubt aware that the English Premier League will be a tougher test than the Bundesliga. He played against some of the world’s best for Croatia this summer, but facing attackers like Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Igor Thiago, Bakayo Saka, and João Pedro more regularly will be tougher. The Croatian performed well in Brighton’s last pre-season friendly against Bologna. He lost one race against the former Roma striker Artem Dovbyk, but otherwise largely came out on top in the one-on-one battles. Vuskovic also looked composed in possession and his passing will be valued by Fabian Hürzeler, especially if Lewis Dunk is to play more of a bit-part role this season.
Time will tell whether Vuskovic will prove one of Bloom’s successful gambles.
0 Comments