Tottenham: Dejan Kulusevski has helped breathe life back into Spurs’ top-four challenge

There was a lot of disappointment within the Tottenham camp after they failed to sign either one of Luis Diaz or Adama Traore in January. 

Antonio Conte’s side had been chasing both men throughout the duration of the transfer window, only to be hijacked by Liverpool for the exciting Diaz, and for Barcelona to jump in and sign Traore on loan. 

To the Italian’s relief, Spurs eventually did dip their toes into the market, bringing in both Dejan Kulusevski, on an 18-month loan, and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus. 

The Swede has contributed with two goals and four assists in six Premier League games

The pair have made positive impacts as shown on Wednesday night, as they bagged an assist each in Tottenham’s 2-0 victory over Brighton.  

Kulusevski in particular has helped breathe life back into Tottenham’s top-four challenge with two goals and four assists in eight games. 

The 21-year-old has made an instant impact and though fourth-placed Arsenal have a game in hand over their north London rivals, Tottenham are just three points behind. 

Arsenal also still have to travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so while Spurs’ inconsistency will concern Conte, they are still in with a strong shout to make the Champions League for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

A well known issue for Tottenham in recent seasons has been finding a third man to compliment the output of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Kulusevski could play a crucial part in Spurs’ aspirations of Champions League qualification

Lucas Moura has had periods where he looked like he could be that player but consistency has been his main issue.

There were promising signs in his first season, scoring 15 goals in all competitions and playing a crucial part in helping them reach the Champions League final which they lost to Liverpool.  

Spurs have been on a slippery slope since that day and Moura’s output has since gone down, with a combination of eight goals and assists in the league in 2019-20, seven in 2020-21 and six so far this season.

Steven Bergwijn provided just five in his first full season at the club and just three so far this campaign. 

Kulusevski in just eight league games has already bettered Bergwijn who’s made 17 appearances and matched Moura who has featured 25 times.

Kulusevski has already matched Lucas Moura’s (pictured) goal contributions this season and bettered Steven Bergwijn

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are also benefitting from having Kulusevski’s presence in the team

Tottenham’s output in total has also improved since the Swede’s arrival, scoring 2.3 goals per game when Kulusevski has played, compared to just 1.3 goals without him. 

He has proven to be a massive threat in the final third, with only Kane and Son scoring more goals, while no other player has provided more assists since his first game.   

In terms of chances created he is second behind Son and he is third in the squad for dribbles completed – behind the South Korean international and Kane.  

Kulusevski clearly has an eye for goal with only Kane having more shots in the games that the 21-year-old has played.  

Despite making 74 appearances for Juventus since arriving from Atalanta at the start of the 2019-20 season, there was not much hype among Tottenham supporters when his loan signing was announced.

A big part of that is that he was predominantly used as a substitute by the Bianconeri – only starting five of the 20 Serie A games that he participated in this season.

However, he appears much happier with his regular game time at Tottenham and his numbers have improved from his time at Juventus. 

He already has two more goal contributions in England’s top flight than he offered in the Serie A, is having more touches per game and a higher number of shots.

The big improvement though is in terms of his chances created, jumping from 1.2 per game to 2.

Conte last month revealed that he does not feel surprised by Kulusevski’s instant impact. In fact, Conte knew the 21-year-old would suit his style of play when he tried to bring him to Inter from Juventus.

Nevertheless, former Juve transfer chief Paratici – who moved to Spurs in June – blocked the manager’s approach. 

Antonio Conte previously tried to sign the Swedish winger when the Italian was at Inter Milan

In regards to signing the Swede for Tottenham, he said: ‘I was very clear when I signed Bentancur and Kulusevski. Two perfect players for the club, young talented players to develop. Kulusevski is a player who is only 21-years=old, and in these four games he could have scored in every game.

Conte added that Kulusevski could be an important player right now for Spurs and not only for the future if he continues developing and producing at this rate.

‘I think he is showing that he is a fantastic player for the present but also he if he continues in this way he can become a really important player,’ Conte continued.

‘He is strong physically, good technically; he has no fear of the opponent or the tackle. It is a good sign, with Harry and Son, also Lucas Moura and Bergwijn, offensively we are good, and I am happy for this.’

Tottenham have struggled in recent transfer windows and failed to improve the squad with their signings since the 2019 Champions League final loss.

But the early signs are that they have struck gold with Kulusevski. It has perhaps contributed to Kane playing the best football of his season and Matt Doherty has seemingly salvaged his Spurs career since the Swede was introduced on the right flank.

A few more signings like Kulusevski and Bentancur, who was also excellent at the Amex against Brighton, would suit both Spurs and Conte, and help push them back in the right direction. 

With a victory this weekend they would jump ahead of the Hammers and Manchester United into fifth place – with Arsenal in their sights.