Tottenham defender lifts lid on why he snubbed Manchester City transfer | OneFootball

Tottenham and Croatia defender Luka Vušković has opened up on why he rejected the opportunity to join Manchester City before moving to north London.

The UEFA Europa League holders secured the arrival of the teenager on a five-year contract from Hajduk Split in the recent transfer window, winning the race to sign one of Europe’s most highly-rated young defenders.

City addressed their backline in 2025 January window as they recruited Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov midway through the previous season to mitigate the losses of Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and John Stones to the treatment table at various stages of the campaign.

Kyle Walker also left City to join AC Milan on loan in January, which left the Blues in a difficult personnel place amid their most difficult season in a decade as Pep Guardiola and co only managed to record a third-place Premier League finish last term.

City built on their January dealings in the summer transfer window when newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana orchestrated a significant revamp of the first-team squad after signing off on a series of notable exits.

Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Scott Carson, James McAtee, Ederson and Ilkay Gundogan all left Manchester City in the summer, with Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji amongst several first-team stars allowed to leave on loan for regular playing opportunities.

Viana mitigated the notable loss of De Bruyne with the shrewd acquisitions of Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki from AC Milan and Lyon respectively, with Manchester City also overhauling their goalkeeping department with the signings of Marcus Bettinelli, James Trafford and Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Executives at the Etihad Stadium are not expected to be nearly as active in the January transfer window though as was evident with their opportunistic capture of Donnarumma on deadline day in September, City bosses will assess an opening in the market that is deemed too good to pass on.

When asked about his decision to join Tottenham over Manchester City in the summer, 18-year-old Croatian centre-half Luka Vušković said: “I think Tottenham was a perfect fit because they presented a great project,” as relayed by Sport Witness.

“Manchester City has many, many, many young players. I didn’t want to be just a number. At Tottenham, they presented me as one of the top projects. And that really meant a lot to me at that moment. That was the deciding factor, let’s say.”

On whether he would consider joining Manchester City in the future, Vušković added: “I honestly have no idea. I’m taking it one step at a time, feeling great right now, making good progress. And I hope it continues that way.”

Manchester City return to Premier League duties on Sunday against Bournemouth as they look to return to winning ways after their two-month unbeaten run came to an end in a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa last week.