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do you think like me that 10 is the go to position for him long term
Yes, he sure can hit the ball. Lovely left foot, scored a few crackers for Juve coming inside from the right and sending a curler into the opposite corner.
Im sure i saw a quote on here from the man himself that he sees himself as a trequartista / number 10 sort of player - whether Conte agrees is another thing as pointed out by someone else on here
It's a very interesting one with him, as I think he's one of those players that can play so many positions...which is probably the main reason Conte was so keen on him at Inter and now at Spurs.
I hope everyone here reads that outstanding, well researched article about him. If you haven’t already, read the whole thing.In Dejan Kulusevski, Antonio Conte might just have met his match.
Tottenham head coach Conte is famed for his meticulous attention to detail and the way he prepares his players for matches with the use of video analysis. He even subjected the squad to a 75-minute session during his first week in charge back in November.
Kulusevski has a similar approach and likes to educate himself by watching footage of players, such as Eden Hazard, whom he thinks he can take lessons from. Before moving to Juventus two years ago this month, he sat through all of their then-manager Maurizio Sarri’s matches in charge of Chelsea. After he made his debut for Sweden Under-21s in a March 2019 defeat to their Russian counterparts, Kulusevski asked for the video of the match and, after watching it, came back the following morning and said, “I understand now.” He didn’t make the same mistakes again.
“One of my habits is to watch many games because I learn a lot from my colleagues,” Kulusevski explained in 2020.
Kulusevski has other traits that will leave the demanding Conte purring with excitement.
One is how exceptionally hard-running he is, regularly topping the distance covered stats in Serie A matches and even being top of the class in that metric while at Gian Piero Gasperini’s notoriously fit Atalanta.
Kulusevski also loves to take on defenders, trying to work the angles to get shots away with his left foot. “The clearest thing is that he was a very strong dribbler,” is the verdict of Bartosz Grzelak, one of his coaches at Sweden Under-21 level. “He was dribbling all the time.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Conte tried to sign Kulusevski while Inter Milan manager two years ago. In the end, the teenaged Kulusevski opted against it, fearing there would be no place for him in Conte’s 3-5-2 system. Instead, Kulusevski, who sees himself primarily as a No 10 who can also operate on the flanks, decided to leave Atalanta for Juventus — a move led by Fabio Paratici, now Tottenham managing director of football. It hopefully bodes well for Spurs that Conte and Paratici are long-time admirers of their new signing.
“Kulu” has also attracted interest from Manchester City, and as for how quickly he can adapt to the Premier League, those who have followed his career say he has a knack for quickly raising his level and recalibrating whenever faced with a new challenge.
That looked like being the case at Juventus as well, but in the end, things didn’t work out in Turin.
In many ways, Kulusevski was the victim of a couple of years of huge churn. Sarri, the manager who signed him, was sacked before he had even played for the club and his replacement, Andrea Pirlo, also lasted only one season. Pirlo’s successor Massimiliano Allegri hasn’t warmed to the 21-year-old Swede and Kulusevski has started only five of Juventus’s 23 Serie A matches this campaign.
Last season, there were suspicions around the club that Kulusevski did not enjoy, and was even a touch overawed by, playing with Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Spurs feel they have made an important and fairly low-risk signing. Kulusevski has joined on an 18-month loan, which will automatically be made into a permanent deal worth around €40 million (£33.2 million), including a loan fee, plus add-ons if objectives such as qualifying for the Champions League are met.
This is what Tottenham are getting and how an exciting attacking talent who looks up to compatriot Zlatan Ibrahimovic, fellow redhead Kevin De Bruyne and, er, Adnan Januzaj, made it to this point…
Like Ibrahimovic, Kulusevski comes from an immigrant background.
The son of a Macedonian mother, he came through the ranks at Brommapojkarna, a Stockholm club with a rich history of producing talented players. “Zlatan has created opportunities for us Swedish players, also for people like me — I’m half Macedonian — who come from other cultures,” Kulusevski said a couple of years ago.
Ibrahimovic is likewise a big fan of Kulusevski. When the latter was named only on the bench for a Nations League match against France in September 2020, Ibrahimovic tweeted: “What a fucking joke”. Kulusevski incidentally said he was “shocked” at being left out but “respected” the decision.
Personality-wise though, Kulusevski bears little resemblance to his controversial compatriot. He is naturally a shy person and one who is viewed back home as having a great attitude.
“He’s very good to talk to,” says Swedish journalist Frida Fagerlund, who writes predominantly for one of the country’s main newspapers Aftonbladet. “He’s very honest and open, and seems to be a guy who wants to work very hard to achieve his goals. He speaks decent English as well, so that will help.”
Kulusevski celebrates scoring in last year’s Coppa Italia final win over former club Atalanta (Photo: Getty)
Kulusevski left Sweden to join Atalanta for around €200,000 (£166,000) when aged 16, and quickly excelled at under-17 and then under-19 level. He played a key role in Atalanta, famed for their youth development programme, winning the 2018-19 Campionato Nazionale Primavera competition for Serie A clubs’ under-19 sides. Kulusevski contributed 1.28 goals or assists every 90 minutes that season.
His pathway to the first team, who had just qualified for the Champions League, was blocked however by Josip Ilicic and captain Papu Gomez, and so it was decided a loan move was the way forward. Kulusevski has always had an exceptionally clear idea of his career path, and he knew what he needed was regular game time in Serie A.
It was around this time that Sweden Under-21 assistant Grzelak was tasked with going to Bergamo, Atalanta’s hometown, to meet Kulusevski ahead of the youngster being called up for friendlies against Russia and Scotland in March 2019. He was left in no doubt about Kulusevski’s determination and clarity of vision.
“He was very clear about how he saw his career panning out,” Grzelak told The Athletic in 2020. “He said, ‘My plan is first to make my Serie A debut with Atalanta. Then I’ll probably go out on loan to one of the clubs where I have more chance to play and from there I’m aiming for the top clubs in Europe.’
“I’ve sat down with some young players over my coaching career and you always hear those stories — ‘I want to go to Barcelona or (Manchester) United or Juventus.’ You’re like, ‘OK, son, it’s good to have high goals.’ In this case, you then look back at what happened: Dejan made his Serie A debut, he went to Parma, a team where he could have playing time, and then he went to Juventus.”
All in less than a year. “That’s amazing,” Grzelak added.
In that summer of 2019, there was plenty of interest in Kulusevski. Juventus, RB Leipzig and Manchester City, who would have loaned him straight out, all made enquiries. In the end, Kulusevski instead made a smart, “stepping-stone” loan move to Parma, who had finished three points clear of Serie A’s relegation places the previous season.
Kulusevski was a revelation, claiming 10 goals and assists en route to being named the Italian top flight’s young player of the year, almost single-handedly keeping Parma up. He played as a winger, a No 10 and a false nine, and the way he consistently influenced games drew comparisons with the legendary Pavel Nedved from Parma manager Roberto D’Aversa.
Grzelak sees shades of another elite goalscoring midfielder in fellow Swede and Woolwich favourite Freddie Ljungberg.
Kulusevski was generating a lot of excitement, and after an outstanding performance in a 2-1 away win over Napoli in December 2019 (see below), in which he scored, assisted the winner, and covered more than 14km, the most anyone had recorded in a single game up to that point in the season, Juventus pounced. With the January transfer window in only its second day a few weeks later, they signed Kulusevski from Atalanta for €35 million (£29.1 million) plus €9 million (£7.5 million) in add-ons, with an agreement to loan him back to Parma for the remainder of the season.
In the third minute against Napoli, Kulusevski pressures Kalidou Koulibaly into a mistake…
…then nips in front and sprints towards goal…
…before finishing coolly to give Parma the lead.
In stoppage time, Kulusevski heads clear and follows the ball to join a counter.
Despite his 14km shift, he keeps running as Gervinho breaks towards the Napoli box…
…and has the presence of mind to wait for Gervinho and play a perfect assist for Parma’s winner
Conte’s Inter also wanted Kulusevski at this point but he couldn’t see an obvious role for himself in a 3-5-2, whereas the spot behind the strikers in Sarri’s 4-3-1-2 was, he said, his “perfect role” and precisely where he saw himself ultimately excelling — as did Juventus.
It will be interesting to see whether Conte persists with a 3-4-3 — if he does then Kulusevski, who likes to cut in onto his left foot, looks well placed to target Lucas Moura’s position on the right. Playing him there, with a left-footer in their attack, should give Spurs a better balance. At Parma, Kulusevski was very effective playing off the right in a team who liked to hit opponents on the counter. For Sweden, he tends to play as a striker in a front two.
At Juventus, however, Kulusevski never really nailed down one position.
Having been slated to play as a No 10 for Sarri, by the time he made his debut for the club at the start of the pandemic-delayed 2020-21 season, Sarri was gone and Pirlo was in charge. Kulusevski began as a second striker playing off Ronaldo but they didn’t click and there was the sense the Swede felt inhibited by his superstar strike partner. He wasn’t the only one at Juventus who felt this way.
Kulusevski wound up starting half (19) of Juve’s Serie A matches last season and generally found himself behind Paulo Dybala, Juan Cuadrado and Federico Chiesa in the pecking order.
It’s been a similar story this season, with those five starts among 20 league appearances so far under Allegri. It has been suggested that the coach had doubts about Kulusevski’s footballing intelligence.
“Someone told me yesterday that Allegri thinks Kulusevski can’t read the game well enough,” the Swedish former England, Lazio and Sampdoria manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said in September. “I don’t know what that means but, obviously, the coach sees something that makes him not trust him 100 per cent.”
“But with the talent Kulusevski has, he can do things on his own. So, it is very strange that he doesn’t start every game.”
Generally, there is some sympathy for things not working out for Kulusevski in Turin. Juventus have been a club in transition over the last couple of years, going through three managers in that time, and not really committing to the plan to build the team around youngsters such as Kulusevski.
And with money needed to fund this week’s €75 million (£62.5 million) signing of Dusan Vlahovic, Kulusevski made sense as someone to move on.
So, after a few months that have muddied the waters when it comes to the debates around Kulusevski’s best position and his true level, it’s worth taking a step back to try to answer those two questions.
Reflecting on his best position as he left Parma for Juventus at the end of his loan spell, Kulusevski told Sky Sports Italia: “It depends on the team, on the game. For how we play in Parma, the coach has found the perfect position for me — as a winger. When I was in the Primavera of Atalanta, on the other hand, I played more in the centre because the action had to start from behind.
“My perfect role? Behind the strikers. When I play, I don’t think about goals or assists. With the ball, I think always attacking, to the fact that the defenders have to know who they are dealing with. Having said that, I need to improve in shooting more often and also in scoring more.”
As for comparable players, Manchester City and Belgium midfielder De Bruyne is someone Kulusevski looks up to. “I study him a lot because he is a phenomenal player and because I want to become like him,” he has said.
But it’s actually another Belgian, Januzaj, who was one of Kulusevski’s first idols. Seeing the then-teenager play for Manchester United in a friendly in Sweden wearing the No 44 shirt is why Kulusevski wore the same number for Parma and Juventus.
Kulusevski was taken with Januzaj’s fearlessness, and tries to play the game in the same sort of way.
To get more of a sense of how Kulusevski operates and how good he is, we can consult the data from smarterscout, which rates an individual out of 99 in specific metrics relative to other players at their position.
Owing to his limited number of league minutes this season (772) — especially in a single position — it makes more sense to look at his profile from 2020-21.
Juventus largely played a 4-4-2 last season with Kulusevski on the right, but also played 3-4-3 on occasion, where he played as a wide forward (as stated above, this is where we’re most likely to see him for Spurs), but you can see from his position map that he is versatile enough to play wide or more centrally, and even at wing-back on occasion (which contributes to the right midfield 40 per cent figure below).
As for his effectiveness, his pizza-chart profile from last season shows how much of a runner he is with the ball (carry and dribble volume rating: 98 out of 99). He is direct and skilful in his play and it’s interesting to see how well he looks after possession considering that style (ball retention ability: 83 out of 99).
This goal Kulusevski scored against Verona early in that 2020-21 season is a good example of his threat when running at defences.
He picks the ball up in the inside-right channel…
….and stands up the defender before twisting and turning to work the yard for a shot.
His finish, in his favoured shooting position on the right-hand side of the box, is clinical into the far corner
The data and the above example tie in with the view of his former coaches.
“He’s constantly moving,” Grzelak said in 2020. “And he’s available for his team-mates. That’s why you see him involved in so many situations in the final third. He’s extremely strong. When it comes to covering ground with the ball, he’s fast. 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.
“When you look at his goals and assists, it’s clear he knows when it’s time to shoot or pass to someone else in a better position. His understanding of the play is brilliant in that aspect.”
His assist for Gervinho against Napoli detailed earlier in this piece is a good example of that, but Kulusevski is also one to chip in with goals himself. He has good anticipation and a knack for picking up loose balls around the edge of the box. From there, his favoured finish is the left-footed curler from the inside right channel into the corner (as the below goals last season against Sampdoria, Genoa and Atalanta illustrate). He scored seven goals in total for Juventus in 2020-21.
In general, Kulusevski is very much one to run and take players on rather than thread long balls upfield (his progressive passing score is just two out of 99). He is more likely to receive the ball himself in dangerous areas and get on the end of things than be the creative passer.
The data also shows how strong his attacking output is in contributing to the team’s goalscoring opportunities (with an expected goals score from the shots he creates of 86/99). However, one note of caution here is that only 19 of his 35 league appearances were starts, so a fair proportion of his minutes were from the bench against fatigued defences, which might have helped to inflate his attacking output. The need to make something happen and encouragement to get shots off could also partly account for his very high shot volume rating of 92 out of 99. That said, Kulusevski may be used as an impact substitute in his early weeks at Tottenham, so this would be a very handy skill to have.
Those who know Kulusevski believe he and Spurs will be a good match — the self-aware, hard-working attacker with the hugely demanding head coach who requires his players to give themselves up for the greater good of the team.
“He has so much potential, he just needs to be in an environment where he can develop and make progress,” says the Swedish journalist Fagerlund. “Playing under Conte will be brilliant for him.”
Additional reporting: James Horncastle and Mark Carey
(Graphic: photos — Getty Images, design — Sam Richardson)
theathletic.com
Apparently he wears 44 because he was impressed by watching Adnan Januzaj in a friendly in Sweden, which is both the most random and concerning fact about Kulu.
www.dailystar.co.uk
