Who is Luka Vuskovic - The next big thing in Croatian Football?

The wonderkid is taking the entire footballing world by storm courtesy of his heroics at the mere age of 16

The emergence of astoundingly young footballers into the biggest level of football, is something which is growing increasingly recurrent with each passing day. These days it is very common to see youngsters at the age of 20-21, to play for some of the biggest clubs in the world, and also have a stature that is way beyond their age.

Other than this, there are also some players, who achieve a more difficult feat, and actually make it to the top level of football, in their teenage years of 18-19 years. Such occurrences are rare, but this has happened quite a few times in the history of football. But what hasn’t happened, is for a 16-year and 1 month old (as of march 2023) boy to play for one of the biggest clubs in Croatia, and become a regular starter for one of the top teams in the nation, and also draw keen attention from other top European clubs. 

As dazzled and amazed as you are after hearing this, this is indeed true, and we are talking about none other than Luka Vuskovic, one of the biggest talents in Europe at the moment, who is baffling the entire world by his astounding achievements at this very tender age.

The thrilling journey of Luka so far

Born on the 24th of February 2007 in Split, Luka always had a keen interest in football, and started his journey at a very young age at the academy of Hajduk Split. At the academy, Luka soon proved to everyone that his potential was undeniably exquisite, and swiftly climbed through the ranks of the academy, and became the youngest scorer in the UEFA Youth League in the process.

What followed was an absolute dream for the 15-year-old, as he was allowed to feature in a friendly against Urania, in September 2022. Around three months later, he was once again called by the main team, to play a friendly against German side Schalke. Luka scored in that game, and also helped his team get a 4-3 win over the opponents. 

This spectacular display of brilliance by young Luka convinced Hajduk’s head coach,, to give his 16-year-old starboy the perfect Birthday gift, as just two days after turning 16, Luka got to make his official debut, as he played the entirety of the game against arch rivals Dinamo Zagreb. This far-fetched achievement, crowned Luka Vuskovic as the youngest player to ever feature in the Croatian top flight, and gave him nationwide appreciation.

Just days after his first appearance as a pro, Luka Vuskovic once again featured for his team, and also got his first professional goal, in a cup tie against Osijek, becoming the youngest scorer in Hajduk’s history.

At the international stage also, Luka Vuskovic’s progress has been equally impressive, and he has made three appearances for his nation at the U16 level, against Armenia, Greece and Slovenia.

Luka’s style of play

Courtesy of his incredible 6 feet 3 inch height, Luka gets a pretty fair advantage in his centre back position at the youth levels. Not only that, the players’ brilliant positioning and presence of mind helps him formulate the opposition's plans and bring about a desired course of action. 

Luka Vuskovic’s heading abilities are also incredible, and he can prove to be very dangerous from set pieces. This is very well proved in the fact that Luka is the second highest score in his youth team, despite being a centre back.

Luka Vuskovic's dooming physical stature also makes his job easy in the back, and his quick thinking aided with great distribution helps in facilitating attacks.

Scouting expert Jacek Kulig rated Luka as the best 15-year-old in world football and said that Vuskovic has no significant weaknesses, a rare achievement for a player of any age.

Such high regards for a young player like Luka definitely speaks tons about the kind of talent he is, and raises a big question, of whether he is the next superstar in Croatian football.

What the future holds for Luka

Such talent at this tender age at such a big level, definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by the scouts of some of the top clubs, and it is pretty fare to say, that some big names would be setting their sights on Luka, and would want to get the 16-year-old in their side, and nourish him into becoming a future sensation.

The bigshots which are eyeing on the teenage prodigy are Man City and Real Madrid, and there has also been some news regarding interest being shown by PSG, Atletico Madrid and AC Milan. 

Hajduk have got a gem in their hands, and the team would want to hold onto him for a few more years, until top clubs are willing to lash out millions to get Vuskovic on their sides. 

Whatever happens, one thing is certain, that there is the rise of an upcoming sensation in the bleak terrains of Croatia, and he has his eyes set on making it to the very top of the footballing world.