Player Watch Player Watch: Dejan Kulusevski

dontcallme said:

I’d be really disappointed if we can’t find a place for him. There’s so much ability, work rate and personality there.

When in the final third with players back, he’s the one I have most belief in to find a way through.

I genuinely think the only thing we need to do is find a way to counter where he isn’t the player receiving it on the halfway line and slowing everything down.

Click to expand...

ikky said:

I remember people were debating who was better, him or Saka? and whether we got lucky in missing out on luis Diaz and getting Kulu instead. And for the first 6 months you could easily argue we had the best player of the 3, but since his initial promise he seems to have regressed quite a lot and the other 2 aforementioned players are easily ahead of him.

Click to expand...

Mr Pink said:

He'll come good again.

Too much quality, and works so hard.

Just low on confidence at present.

Click to expand...

fishhhandaricecake said:

When you say ‘come good’ what do you mean exactly.

He does have quality and does work hard and he is low on confidence but regardless of that I don’t really see a position he can make his own in this set-up tbh.

He clearly wants to play centrally but he’s not going to oust Bentancur or Sarr as n.o8 and he won’t oust Maddison at n.o10 and whilst we still have gio this season I think as long as Johnson doesn’t get injured at RW then Kulu will be 15 mins off the bench for the rest of the season tbh.

Click to expand...

Mr Pink said:

I mean improve generally with his performances.

He might well be covering 8, 10 and the right side next season.

We'll have more games, and playing nearer his best will give us real strength in depth.

He creates a lot of chances, works his nutts off and has a great attitude.

Id be stunned if Agne sanctions selling him.

Click to expand...

DiVaio said:

He didn't regress at all and his underlying stats are pretty much the same in all 3 season with us or even better in terms of his creativity. The only difference is Son was in fantastic finishing form from his passes in 21/22. 8 assists from 3,4 xA then and now just 3 assists from 6,9 xA

Click to expand...

spursgirls said:

I'd be interested to know how the stats compare for him cutting into the box and shooting with his left foot over the three seasons. My brain tells me he did that a lot more early on and he doesn't do it so much now. It feels to me like he passes the ball to someone else to have a shot more now.

Click to expand...

spursgirls said:

I'd be interested to know how the stats compare for him cutting into the box and shooting with his left foot over the three seasons. My brain tells me he did that a lot more early on and he doesn't do it so much now. It feels to me like he passes the ball to someone else to have a shot more now.

Click to expand...

spurs9 said:

2 Different sources for stats have different results.

According to Sofascore:
In his first 2 seasons, he averaged 1.4 shots per game (same in both seasons, not an average of the 2). He actually averages more, with 1.5 shots per game this season.

According to Fref:
2021/22 - 1.86 shots per game
2022/23 - 1.87 shots per game
2023/24 - 1.73 shots per game

Either way the difference is marginal with max difference of 5 shots over an entire season.

Click to expand...

arunspurs said:

Kulu has no median. Either completely poor or completely unplayable for opponent. No middle ground.

If he is going to regress further from here, he goes on to the chopping block in summer

Click to expand...

joey55 said:

When was he unplayable? He played really well when he first arrived and has ridden on that wave ever since. Last season was 5/10 and this season 6/10.

Click to expand...

joey55 said:

When was he unplayable? He played really well when he first arrived and has ridden on that wave ever since. Last season was 5/10 and this season 6/10. He's a good player and I like him, but the idea that his good form is more a true reflection of him than his less impressive form, simply isn't true. He can't keep being judged on a 4 month period 2 years ago. Since then he's had some good times, but by and large he's been under whelming. Even his biggest fans need to start accepting that now. Last season wasn't a blip. He's just not a winger or wing forward in the Prem. Maybe he can play through the middle as he's certainly got lots of talent. 8 goals and 10 assists in his last 60 games just isn't enough for a club looking to challenge for honours.

Click to expand...