Tottenham defended over £70m double exit despite pair starring for new clubs

Tottenham Hotspur have been told not to dwell on selling Luka Vuskovic and Will Lankshear after their impressive form this season. The pair departed the north London club for a combined £70million, including add-ons, joining Brighton and Middlesbrough , respectively. However, fans have since questioned whether it was the right decision to let the youngsters leave amid Spurs’ slow start to the campaign. Roberto De Zerbi’s side only secured their first Premier League win of the season against Coventry City on Monday. Meanwhile, Vuskovic has helped third place Brighton keep four successive clean sheets, whilst Lankshear is the Championship’s leading scorer . Despite their immediate success upon leaving Spurs , Abbi Summers has defended the club’s decision to accept bids for both players. Should Spurs have kept Vuskovic? Speaking on the latest episode of talkSPORT’s Inside Spurs , she justified both pieces of business. Discussing Vuskovic’s exit, Summers explained: “If you’re going to get £50million for a player that hasn’t played (for you), I think it’s silly to not take it when we had to rebuild that defence. “Of course it would have been nice to keep him, but I don’t think you could have thrown him in this season with Micky van de Ven, you couldn’t have.” The Croatia defender was sold to Brighton in July for an initial £46million plus up to £4million in add-ons. His impressive form for the Seagulls includes a goal in their draw with Leeds United last month. In contrast to Brighton’s defensive displays, Spurs have kept just two Premier League clean sheets and have conceded 10 goals in seven matches this term. Vuskovic did not make a senior appearance for Spurs, having arrived from Hajduk Split last summer after turning 18. His subsequent loan spell at Hamburg saw the 19-year-old named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season. ‘Easy’ for Spurs fans to rue selling Lankshear As for Lankshear, Summers admitted: “It’s very, very easy (to say Spurs should not have sold him) and we could all be sitting here in another year, two years, five years and say ‘oh, we should never have sold Will Lankshear.’ “I don’t think either me or Majestic would have wanted to sell Will Lankshear. We just wouldn’t have had him as our second. Third choice? Yes. “It’s a lot easier to go and score in the Championship because if you put (Dominic) Solanke in the Championship or you put Richarlison in the Championship, they would be bagsmen. They’d get so many goals. “It’s a very big difference from being in the Premier League and I hope for Will Lankshear that he ends up being the next Harry Kane, I hope he has the most incredible career and he’s a Prem great. “I just think you have to look at it logically that it’s very easy to compare someone in the Championship.” Lankshear has scored 11 goals in 14 appearances for Boro across all competitions since his move to the Riverside. The 21-year-old’s initial £10million transfer includes a further £10million in add-ons. He is currently the top scorer in the Championship with nine goals for Kim Hellberg’s side. Meanwhile, no Spurs player has scored more than twice in all competitions so far this season. Prior to being sold, Lankshear played just 146 minutes across six first-team appearances for Tottenham.