Discussion in the “Done Deals” podcast
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“The anticipation for this player was extremely great. Everything he showed in the first few weeks not only confirmed the whole thing, but triggered even more euphoria,” said HSV coach Merlin Polzin about Luka Vuskovic at the beginning of the month. The 18-year-old Croatian, who was loaned from Tottenham Hotspur, has become an integral part of the promoted team’s central defense. His performances earned him a big plus in the last market value update and form the basis for the thesis that he is even the best summer signing in the entire Bundesliga.
The biggest counter-argument in this discussion has little to do with Hamburger SV, but is under contract with the league leaders from Munich and is called Luis Díaz. The 28-year-old – signed from Liverpool FC in the summer as a royal transfer for 70 million euros – is doing almost everything right at FC Bayern so far. Eleven goals and five assists across all competitions are an outstanding record that is only surpassed internationally by Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé. And yet there are good reasons for the thesis that Vuskovic’s influence on Hamburg’s game is greater than Díaz’s influence on Bayern’s game.
“As an 18-year-old central defender making his debut in a top 5 league with a promoted team, what could you have done better?” asks podcast host Fabian Knottnerus in the new episode “Done Deals”, in which he and co-host Lennart Gens evaluate the most important Bundesliga newcomers – and only give Vuskovic the top grade of 10/10. “Anyone who, at the age of 18, stabilizes this porous HSV defense – which it really was at the start of the season -, carries the team on his shoulders and is now named ‘Rookie of the Month’ for the second time in a row, absolutely deserves a 10/10 rating for me.”
An important classification at this point is that it is purely logically not possible to compare the performances of an offensive player with those of a central defender – and that should not be the goal. Rather, it’s about which transfer was better under the given circumstances, financial possibilities and the needs of the team. The expectations that were placed on the player when he was signed also play a role. And with Díaz having the third-highest transfer fee in Bundesliga history, these were of course higher than for a teenager who had previously only played in Belgium, Poland and Croatia.
“It’s really crazy what this young man is playing,” said Gens, praising the HSV youngster, who received a €6 million increase to €18 million in the last market value update in October. Nevertheless, in his opinion it is only enough for a 9/10 because only Díaz is eligible for the top grade. “For me, Díaz is the prime example of a 10/10 transfer,” said Gens. “He is one of the main reasons why Bayern is currently one of the hottest teams internationally. He scored both goals against Paris and showed that he can deliver on the big stage. And despite the high transfer fee, there were quite a few critics who questioned the usefulness of the transfer in the summer.”
Knottnerus justifies his rating for Díaz, a 9/10, with the ability to exploit opportunities that can still be improved: “He has easily left four to five stalls lying around – and for me that is that little bit that is missing for a 10/10.”
You can now watch the entire discussion – including about 18 other Bundesliga newcomers such as Nicolas Jackson, Jobe Bellingham and Bilal El Khannouss – in the new podcast episode “Done Deals” on, among others Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music listen.