Dejan Kulusevski believes he has never met someone as motivated as Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte and that everything he says "enters your heart by force".
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has had a big impact in the Premier League with 17 goal involvements - 11 goals and six assists - in his 25 Premier League matches since arriving on an 18-month loan from Juventus in January. The Swede has instantly adapted to the English league and life at Spurs and his move to north London will be made permanent this season.
Kulusevski was struggling for starts at Juventus before his move but has been revived by his switch to work with Conte in the Premier League. On the international stage, since his arrival in England, he has also contributed three assists and one goal in his past four starts, including a eye-catching bit of play to set up Viktor Claesson during Sweden's 4-1 defeat to Serbia on Saturday.
"I don't know, in football things are simply bad. I have not changed anything about myself in recent months: mentally I went and I always go on the pitch to give my best. At Juve, however, it didn't work beyond what I tried to do," he said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport while on international duty this week.
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"I'm a guy who likes to look forward, rather than backward. Certainly at Juventus I didn't feel great for many different reasons and when you realize that things are not going well, then it is difficult to reverse the course remaining in the same environment. So the choice to leave Italy was the best I could have made in that situation.
"In England I feel great, everything is better than in Turin, both on and off the pitch. As I said, now I always want to play football and to win for my team."
Kulusevski credits Conte with bringing his game along rapidly and transforming his fitness to a different level. The Swede is a worker and told football.london without a hint of sarcasm during pre-season that he finds it "amazing" to feel the pain of training hard and that's "what you have to do to become a champion". In his latest interview this week, the attacker said the Spurs head coach's work with him has been crucial.
"His work was important. At Tottenham my body changed, mainly thanks to the exercises in the gym, in no time. We work a lot every day and better than I did in Italy. I love how we train in London and for sure the credit goes to our coach. I'm very happy to play for him," he explained.
When asked whether there was a big difference between the methods of Conte and Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, Kulusevski said: "Honestly yes. I don't want to say that one is better than the other, because I have great respect for both Allegri and Conte and both have won a lot in their careers, but the work and the idea of football are completely different.
"At Tottenham, as I have already said, you struggle a lot more in the gym and you can see the results. I can say that from Juve to Spurs my world has changed and one thing must be said about Conte.
"I have never met in my life, even outside football, a motivated person like Antonio Conte. One like this, when he speaks to you, enters your heart by force."
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