With Tottenham rushing to conclude a major part of their business before the World Cup truly kicks off, their deal with Brighton for Jan Paul van Hecke may have just been thrown into jeopardy by Brighton’s Luka Vuskovic counteroffer…Since concluding their early business of securing the additions of Marcos Senesi and Any Robertson on free transfers, Tottenham have been in hot pursuit of Brighton’s star defender Jan Paul van Hecke.The North London club was looking to conclude the deal before the Netherlands’ opening game of the World Cup against Japan, which Brighton seem intent on exploiting.With the negotiations between the two clubs reportedly in the final stages, Brighton decided to throw a spanner in the works by submitting a bid for Tottenham’s Luka Vuskovic with the intent of including him in the deal.In fact, it has even been reported that Vuskovic has already agreed personal terms with Brighton.Photo by Lampson Yip/Lampson Yip/Clicks ImagesWhat does Brighton’s offer mean for Luka Vuskovic’s future at Tottenham?Thanks to his exceptional loan spell with Hamburger SV, Luka Vuskovic quickly cemented himself as one of the most valuable young defenders in Europe and performed exceptionally well in most defensive metrics.His sudden rise in prominence in one of Europe’s top leagues put the 19-year old on the radars of Europe’s biggest clubs as interest was reported from clubs like Barcelona and Bayern.Brighton have now firmly added themselves to the list with their bid for Vuskovic, reported to be around £30 million, which puts Spurs in a difficult situation with an even more challenging decision to make.Centre-back is quickly becoming the one position at Tottenham Hotspur where it is the easiest to become surplus to requirements for Roberto De Zerbi. Even if Cristian Romero were to leave this summer, as all rumours seem to be pointing towards, this would still leave Micky van De Ven, Kevin Danso, and Marcos Senesi likely in front of Vuskovic in the pecking order.Jan Paul van Hecke is also a target that De Zerbi has been desperate to sign and wants to build the team around, and if that deal was to go through, Vuskovic could potentially wind up being the 4th or 5th choice centre-back.According to the report by David Ornstein, Roberto De Zerbi has been given a lot of influence over the incomings and outgoings in the club and doesn’t have Vuskovic in his immediate plans either.As the young Croat is desperate to play to continue his development, the reasons why he might favour a move away from Tottenham become clearer.While most fans would likely prefer to keep a player of such potential as Vuskovic, the current balance of power at Tottenham might mean the starlet’s future is up in the air.Let’s break down how the youngster’s future could potentially turn out.Option one: Vuskovic stays as part of Tottenham’s first team.This is the option that is probably currently unlikely for reasons we’ve already mentioned above. Roberto De Zerbi has been given the power and resources to build the team in his image, and there seem to be very few people in the club with the authority to go against him.Vuskovic is under contract until 2030 and could be made to stay at Tottenham to compete for the first XI spots. But a move like this is likely to further alienate Vuskovic from Tottenham, who himself wants to secure a transfer for where he’ll be guaranteed to play every week.Vuskovic’s game is also still massively hindered by his lack of pace, which currently all but prevents him from playing in a high-line system. He is amongst the slowest players in Europe, ranking in the low 400s for sprint speed, and, in terms of profile, is pretty far from an ideal Roberto De Zerbi centre-back.Part of the reason behind Vuskovic’s incredible rise through the ranks of European defenders was how well suited he was to the way Hamburg wanted to play in the Bundesliga. His aerial ability, defensive duelling, and ability to effectively use the limited chances he might get on the ball, made him perfect for a team sitting in a low block.These same qualities are likely to be underappreciated in a De Zerbi team. While Vuskovic is still young and has plenty of potential to grow as a player, to thrive in an offensive system, he would need to radically alter his game, and if he were to stay this season, his first-time chances would likely be limited.Option two: Vuskovic leaves Spurs on loanThis will likely be the option that would be the most preferable for the club. Sending out Vuskovic on loan while retaining his services, possibly with a contract extension, would allow the young Croat to continue his development while at the same time hedging against value depreciation if the case the club decides to sell the defender after all.Luka Vuskovic’s ceiling remains sky-high anyway, and a further year of regular play time will almost certainly be beneficial for Tottenham to decide whether there could be a long-term future for Vuskovic in Lilywhite. When choosing a possible loan destination, it would probably be the most beneficial to place him in an environment that would significantly challenge the Croat and his playstyle. The French Ligue One is famously the closest to the Premier League in terms of athletic demands, and with how high the defender’s stocks are, he could even secure a loan to one of the promoted teams in the Premier League or even Brighton themselves.Option three: Spurs cash in on Vuskovic while his stock is highThe final option available to Tottenham is to sell the defender while his valuation remains very high. While Brighton’s £30 million bid falls far below Tottenham’s £60 million valuation, there is an argument that if that valuation is met, Spurs would be well served by selling the defender.There is no guarantee at all that Vuskovic will end up developing into a defender who could comfortably play in an attacking team, all the while an unsuccessful loan would also end up lowering his value. If indeed Roberto De Zerbi does not have the young centre-back in his plans and with multiple areas of the pitch still in dire need for reinforcements, Vuskovic’s sale could fund further significant investment into the team.The crucial question remains, of course, to what extent Roberto De Zerbi is the driving force behind Tottenham’s current transfer market behaviour.De Zerbi lost his employment at Brighton due to fundamental disagreements over his influence in the club’s transfer decisions and being a kingmaker at Spurs was likely a big factor in De Zerbi’s decision to take over as the manager.The talks with potential sporting director Sebastien Kehl broke down due to similar questions over De Zerbi’s excessive influence over sporting decisions. While Johan Lange failed to build any sort of overarching strategy and footballing culture during his time at Tottenham, it is still not entirely clear whether it is entirely beneficial for a club to leave that much control to their manager.READ MORE: Why is De Zerbi desperate to sign Savinho? In-depth analysis shows why Tottenham need himThe post Tottenham have three options open to them as Luka Vuskovic agrees terms with Brighton appeared first on Spurs Web.