Yeah playing Lucas in that role is just a complete lottery. He might have a horrendous first touch or run down a blind alley, or he might go on a mazy dribble and wreak havoc. Either way moves consistently broke down when they reached him due to his maverick style of play, and against better teams this could kill us.
A substitute appearance as a second striker. A tireless performance primarily spent tracking back. A switch to right wing-back. Then a more conventional shift as a wide forward.
It has been a busy couple of weeks for Dejan Kulusevski, taking in four games that have showcased his versatility and verve. Against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Kulusevski’s role as a No 10 was to find space between the lines and create opportunities. He did that well, almost setting up a goal for Son Heung-min and coming close with an effort from the edge of the box himself.
At the Etihad, there was a goal and an assist in amongst an almighty defensive effort, which will have come as no surprise to those who watched Kulusevski in Italy, where he used to regularly top the distance-covered charts in Serie A matches. Having spent much of that Manchester City game defending, he then switched to a right wing-back role for the final 25 minutes against Burnley and very nearly scored, hitting the post with a trademark left-footed curling effort.
On Saturday, against Leeds United, Kulusevski meanwhile enjoyed himself on the right wing. He scored again, almost scored another, and was involved throughout as Spurs revived their push for the European places with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Elland Road.
Kulusevski’s shape-shifting will be important for Spurs in the coming months. Conte’s squad is relatively lean after the club saw more players depart than arrive in January, so having someone who can operate in so many different positions and be effective in such different game states will be very useful. This was something Conte pointed to when asked about Kulusevski’s qualities shortly after his arrival, raising a few eyebrows when suggesting he could be used as a right wing-back. Kulusevski joined Juventus over Conte’s Inter in 2020 partly because he didn’t see himself playing in that position, but he offered another attacking dimension for the side when he dropped back there in the second half against Burnley.
Kulusevski’s versatility was a feature of his time at Juventus as well, as the below graphic demonstrates. His challenge there was nailing down one position — at Spurs it could be to his benefit to be able to help the team in such a variety of ways.
Wherever he plays, Kulusevski is most effective with the ball at his feet, running at defenders. There was some criticism of his debut display against Brighton in the FA Cup when he looked a little leggy on the counter, but there are a couple of things to consider here. The first is that Kulusevski tends to be more effective when up against a defender, who he can deceive with his clever movement, rather than being someone who will go haring into space left in behind.
He is also, as his former coach for Sweden Under-21s Bartosz Grzelak told The Athletic in 2020, quicker than his long strides can make him seem. “When it comes to covering ground with the ball, he’s fast,” Grzelak said. “He doesn’t appear that fast, but he’s fast with the ball and he can definitely handle body contact. He can handle tackles and in his decision-making he seems to find the right solution very often.”
Kulusevski has also added a clinical edge to his game since joining Spurs — he has scored as many goals in his last three games as he managed in his final 44 Serie A matches for Juventus. This has been an area of his game Kulusevski has wanted to improve for some time. “I need to improve in shooting more often and also in scoring more,” he told Sky Italia upon joining Juventus two years ago.
A note of caution is needed given how early we are in Kulusevski’s Spurs career and by how badly Leeds defended on Saturday. Things have already changed quickly for Kulusevski following those underwhelming first couple of games, and they could quickly change back.
But the early signs are encouraging, and given the form of Lucas Moura in the first half of the season it’s impressive how quickly Kulusevski has moved ahead of him and Steven Bergwijn in the battle to play alongside Harry Kane and Son. On top of his hard running, dribbling ability (he completed four of five dribbles against Leeds) and goals, Kulusevski has made a positive impression at Tottenham with his attitude and hard work
“Deki” is a hard-working, studious type who enjoys watching video clips as a way of helping his development. His maturity and focus make it easy to forget he’s still only 21, and these are qualities that have won him many admirers back home. “He’s an extremely hard-working player,” a source in Sweden says. “A classic ‘the team comes first’ player. He’s also humble, very down to earth and very serious with his football outside the pitch.”
Conte described Kulusevski as a “perfect player” for Spurs after the game and told The Athletic that: “He is showing that he is a fantastic player for the present but also if he continues in this way he can become a really important player. He is strong physically, good technically, he has no fear of the opponent or the tackle.”
He certainly demonstrated these qualities against Leeds, and on the day when Kane and Son broke the Premier League record for a pair creating goals for one another, Kulusevski reminded us that the Spurs frontline is very much a trio not a duet.
I’m sure everyone will be relived that you’re willing to give him time.
Still hit the post that game though
What is it?
I'm unfamiliar with those. Any links perhaps?
