He hasn’t been shy about confirming and confronting his form of late, and why not? “I think I have something that no other player has,” he said after another monster performance, this time eviscerating Manchester City and sending his Tottenham side back into Champions League contention.
The temptation for managers when stars hit form is to keep them in their role and move others around them. At Spurs, there’s another option – at least when it comes to the magnificently in-form Dejan Kulusevski.
The Swedish attacker has been a conduit and an outlet for Spurs, chance-provider and chance-taker this season. Far more important, he has been the link player between midfield and attack, the transition master, the counter-attacking threat who takes them from defensive third to attacking penalty box with his dribbling, tenacity and engine.
Ange Postecoglou has had him operating in a range of roles this year; often a winger, right-sided and cutting in, Kulusevski has instead been a master of surging centrally, playing an offensive No. 8 role from midfield, powerfully driving into the channels and leaving opposition holders in his wake.
There might not be a single trait Kulusevski has that will see him top the statistical charts every single season, but the bigger impact from him, the reason he is such a weapon and has become so important to his team, is that he does everything very well.
“You can’t compare me to any other player, so this is what I’m looking for,” went the rest of his post-match comments. “I take the best stuff from them, but with my engine, you know, with my heart – I don’t get tired – I feel like I can do a lot still in my career. I don’t get tired and I can’t let anybody outwork me. That’s the plan. That’s how I play and how I train.”
Which is fair enough, when you watch him burst past people in the first and 90th minutes alike, when he’s played more league minutes this season than any other attacker in the squad and when he’s provided more assists than anyone else Postecoglou can call upon. See, he’s not top of Spurs’ stats lists for the Premier League this season when it comes to goals, or assists, or expected either one of those. He’s not top for dribbles, shots or big chances created per 90. Different names top pretty much each of those categories. But he’s among their best at each of those, which is unique to him: Kulusevski will give you some of everything across the board every time he takes the pitch.
And, of course, his consistency this term is vital. Spurs are notoriously…well, Spursy they call it. Capable of losing at home to Ipswich one week and beating Man City away the next, for example. But Kulusevski has kept his level, kept providing chances, kept running for sure. He does top the metrics in two particular areas of the team, which is notable: possessions won in the final third (16, 1.5 per 90) and total chances created (33, 3.1 per 90).
Check around the Premier League for comparable position players for players who have managed more you won’t find any, in either category – or for touches in the box, or for shots blocked. Simply put, he’s a wrecking ball at one end and does more than his fair share at the other, too. Around comparable leagues and players, he’s in the 93rd percentile for chances created and yet also 74th percentile for defensive actions. That’s a rare type of combination player, and it gives Postecoglou significant options from a tactical perspective.
As noted, Kulusevski has been playing as effectively an attacking central midfielder. That’s not totally new – he played as a No. 10 in Italy and has done for the national team – but it is deeper at times. He’s also played as a striker before, so his versatility is endless in the attacking half. Yet flicking him wide allows not just a rest for Brennan Johnson, but also to reincorporate James Maddison into the team in a more attacking central role – just as was the case at City, when the pair combined so well for the opening goal.
Postecoglou has a juggling act to perform to an extent, because while both players would ideally be in his lineup, Spurs as a whole have been too flimsy, too inconsistent, too unreliable to start both of them as twin No. 8s across a midfield three. One on the flank and one centrally though looks solid, particularly with the likes of Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr behind. It’s perhaps easy to say that double pivot should be in place permanently, leaving two attacking spots free for the likes of Johnson, Son Heung Min, Dominic Solanke and the rest to fight for. But they are also all seen as starters, and they can’t all do so every game.
Postecoglou must continue to rotate, to refresh and to make it clear that the only way to stay in the team and be seen as a must-start player is to maintain consistency and impact in the final third. That’s how Tottenham find the overall cohesion game after game after game they have lacked for so long. That’s how they climb the table, and stay there: consistency, not Spursy.
In other words, the wider team must emulate what Kulusevski has been doing all along, regardless of his starting role.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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