Dejan Kulusevski has thrived in a central role for Tottenham this season
Tottenham Hotspur are preparing for their Premier League clash against London rivals Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
The Lilywhites made amends for their disappointing loss to Brighton and Hove Albion before the international break by hammering West Ham United 4-1 last weekend. They made it two wins on the bounce in all competitions by edging AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Spurs have now won seven out of their last eight games in all competitions, and their good run of form has, unsurprisingly, coincided with a fantastic run of performances from Dejan Kulusevski. The Sweden attacker has been brilliant as of late, ever since Ange Postecoglou decided to use him as a central midfielder. He has helped Tottenham control games, linking very well with his teammates in the engine room.
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Dejan Kulusevski has earned plenty of glowing praise from the fans and pundits this season. Mark Schwarzer is among those pundits, with the former Premier League goalkeeper delighted with the 24-year-old’s display against West Ham last weekend. He has put his neck out and tipped the Swede to earn a place in the Premier League Team of the Season this term.
“My hot take for this week is Dejan Kulusevski is going to be in the Team of the Season and he’ll back it up with another great performance against Crystal Palace,” Schwarzer said on The Optus Sport Football Podcast.
“He is absolutely on fire. He’s talked about it since he’s been at Spurs that he wants to play more central.
“He’s a guy that I look at and, on the weekend, he played in a combination of positions, predominantly out wide and then he scores the goal from actually coming in from the right-hand side, cutting inside and that’s what he does really, really well.
“So, I think he is one of the in-form players at the moment in the Premier League.
“I think Ange is a big fan of his, he’s in great form and I think the slight change in his positional play and the freedom he’s given to go inside a little bit more, I think really suits him and Tottenham are benefiting from it. He’s getting better and better as we speak.”
Schwarzer indeed has made a bold claim about Kulusevski getting a spot in the Premier League Team of the Season, given he has just two goals and an assist to his name in the league so far this season. Perhaps he is playing in a new position that is slightly more demanding in terms of intensity, reading of the game and running power, and his role extends beyond just goals and assists.
As witnessed in the 4-1 win over West Ham, the Stockholm-born ace was one of the best players on the afternoon, making noteworthy contributions on both ends of the pitch. While it is difficult to say if Kulusevski will be in the PL’s Team of the Season owing to the likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Arsenal making strong starts to the season in comparison to Tottenham, he has certainly got the world talking about his evolution as a footballer.
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Spurs fans are finally getting to see the best version of the Swede, who will hope to continue his rich vein of form against the struggling Palace on Sunday.
