Player Watch Player Watch: Dejan Kulusevski

[spurs mental]

He’s just not good enough if we want to be truly challenging. He gets the ball in so many incredible positions and just never does anything

He literally helped create the goal today, he scored/caused the goal Monday night. To say he never does anything is absolute nonsense.

 

[whenstevewentup]

Good Squad player

 

[13VanDerBale13]

Very predictable in the final third

 

[Oh Teddy Teddy]

He’s just not good enough if we want to be truly challenging. He gets the ball in so many incredible positions and just never does anything

made the goal with a lovely little flick but you do you

 

[theShiznit]

That one where we had them outnumbered on the counter and he just delayed due to his lack of right foot epitomised him today.
Slows down counters all the time due to having to cut back.
If the running off him isn't up to scratch he's quite predicable, and I felt without Sarr on that side today Porro wasn't able to be as forward thinking due to the lack of cover.

 

[UncleBuck]

Only criticism I’ve got is he needs to use his right foot more often and switch flanks every now and then, cracks me up when you get comms on matchday go “oh, it’s his weaker foot”
I still don’t get how you can have pro footballers who can only kick with one foot when they train for 2/3 hrs a day and have as much time as they want after that to work on their own game!

 

[Gareth88]

He just looked knackered like Johnson, we need more cover on the wings to keep putting teams to the sword.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Is it just me - can't fault his work rate, but if there's a next level for him to reach, he has to make much better decision in his final ball. He very predictable. Too predictable.

Sometimes I wished he could release the ball so much quicker but he will always take that extra touch and Son has already been marked. Some times he could have just threaded a ball forward to the centre region but he will most definitely pass to Porro who may not had the most available of space to run. Then most cases he will cut to his left to cross and/or shoot, which nobody, including our forwards, will be anticipated to defend/block or to attack, because either way the ball will sky.

To me, he looks like playing with a shackle of self-expectation, which was weird because when he first played for us he was as is playing freely without a burden.

needs to do a bit more, have said this repeatedly.

 

[bubble07]

He needs to work on first time crosses with his right foot for hours and hours every day

 

[djhotspur]

He literally helped create the goal today, he scored/caused the goal Monday night. To say he never does anything is absolute nonsense.

But how many attacks and great positions does he waste? A lucky deflected goal and yeah a back heel fine but he wastes so many good chances

 

[spurs mental]

But how many attacks and great positions does he waste? A lucky deflected goal and yeah a back heel fine but he wastes so many good chances

Don't disagree he needs to do more in good positions, but what you said was he does absolutely nothing, which is totally false.

Edit: He also scored v Bournemouth and scored the winner v Sheffield United too.

 

[N'Obody]

But how many attacks and great positions does he waste? A lucky deflected goal and yeah a back heel fine but he wastes so many good chances

I wouldn't necessarily say he purposefully wastes those chances or great positions. I just think he's definitely playing within himself atm, something just hasn't clicked for him yet. He has the talent that's for sure, he just seems to be overthinking his game and its showing.

He just needs to think quicker and I believe this will come as the season goes on and the more Ange drills the ideas into the attackers. It will become second nature towards the end of the season. We just need patience with some of our guys atm.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Unfortunately the one thing he really lacks above anything else is something he can’t improve, lack of pace.

The best PL wide players generally have elite tier, explosive pace.

There have been a few occasions in recent matches where we’ve managed to release him down the right in behind and he has completely failed to get away from the opposition. A quick player would have got away and in to the box. There was a pass from Benny yesterday where the keeper gathered it. Again, a quicker winger there is in on goal.

That lack of pace is preventing really good passages of play from becoming tangible chances.

As I’ve mentioned before, he’s a great squad player but he’s got to play more of a Bernardo type role when he’s wide, with someone else overlapping him or making a third man run. He also needs an explosive dribbler on the opposite flank to give us balance and create more space for him.

In January we need to add an explosive dribbler for the LW (with Johnson capable on both flanks) and then in the summer we need to look for a potentially elite, explosive RW.

 

[Aleks]

I personally thought he was incredible today

 

[TOLBINY]

I am not his biggest fan, but I have read with interest people saying they would like to see him in a midfield No.10 type role and thought he did really well until Gil wet off and Kulu moved to his normal position. Gives us options for the future based upon today.

 

[nipponyid]

I personally thought he was incredible today

Yes I thought he was excellent as well!

 

[spurs mental]

Probably should have scored early on but hit the post, but overall was excellent i thought.

 

[kendoddsdadsdogsdead]

Torn with him. Like a lot of what he does but rarely seems to come off for him in the box and he gets alot of ball in that area.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I personally thought he was incredible today

Yea MOTM for me today, shame he didn’t put that early chance away or the curled effort and I still think his final product needs to improve but very very good today, the least of our worries right now.

 

[Pistols At Dawn]

He’s a phenomenal player and having him at the No 10 is such a weapon — allows us to have three fleet-footed attackers up the pitch and we still get his creativity and ball-holding abilities.

Would consider playing him there even when everyone is fit.