Dejan Kulusevski says he was ‘terrified’ when he joined Tottenham Hotspur from Juventus in January
Dejan Kulusevski has admitted that he was ‘terrified’ and ‘nervous’ to join Tottenham Hotspur from Juventus in the January transfer window earlier this year (2022).
The Sweden international, along with Rodrigo Bentancur, swapped Turin for north London. He cost us £8.3million in total loan fees, while there is an obligation to buy him permanently for £29.2million if certain clauses are met.
He recently said in an interview, via SportWitness (h/t Football.London):
“I was nervous, terrified. It was a new league, the Premier League, where everything goes so much faster and everyone is much stronger. I had a poor playing time at Juventus and didn’t know what I was going to do.”
He then added that he was happy to come to Spurs given a sense of familiarity with manager Antonio Conte and director of football Fabio Paratici.
“Luckily, I came to a club that knew who I was, got a manager who had wanted me a couple of years earlier, as well as a director of football who brought me to Juventus.”
His comments shouldn’t come as a surprise. There is always a sense of nervousness for a young player to switch countries and play in completely new surroundings.
At least for Kulusevski, he had a familiar face in Bentancur also making the switch with him to N17. Both of them have been nothing short of revelations for us so far.
Kulusevski, in particular, has been excellent and is a huge presence in our attack whenever he is fit and available. The nervousness he shared was, in a reduced capacity, shared by some Spurs fans as well.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Lucas Moura ‘expects offers from England’ after leaving Tottenham Hotspur at the end of contract
- Antonio Conte told to drop Eric Dier from Tottenham Hotspur starting XI after Brentford draw
- Spurs News: Manchester United now want Tottenham Hotspur target Kim Min-jae
After all, he came in the same window that Spurs lost out to Liverpool in the race for FC Porto’s Luis Diaz. Many saw him as a contingency plan, but there have been absolutely no compromises made by us in this regard.
