It is no surprise to see why Tottenham fans have taken a real shine to Dejan Kulusevski following his January transfer from Juventus. Registering three goals and six assists in his 14 games for Spurs, the 21-year-old has impressed with his all-round game and play in the final third to become such a key component in Antonio Conte's side.
Leaving his family in Sweden at the age of 15 as he linked up with Italian side Atalanta, it wasn't long before the Swede was making his name in Serie A during a loan spell with Parma. His performances came to the attention of Fabio Paratici, who in turn struck a deal with Atalanta to bring him to Juventus.
With the player in and out of the Juventus team this campaign and Spurs needing an attacking boost, the managing director of football made his move to lure him to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Paratici clearly knew the youngster would be the perfect player for Conte, with Kulusevski's attitude to training showing exactly why the head coach, who has highlighted the importance of training time and time again, is a huge fan.
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“That was a game changer for me, absolutely, because you suffer so much when you leave what is very important to you,” he said on his move from Sweden in the club's matchday programme ahead of the Brighton & Hove Albion game. “But then you just have to take your goals because, while you miss so much time with your family, you have to be serious about your ambitions.
“I try not to be serious outside of the pitch though; I try to be fun and don’t think about it. But, when I train, I train to be better.”
One of the toughest moments Kulusevski has had so far at Tottenham was Sweden's failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Beating Czech Republic in the semis to set up a winner-takes-all clash against Poland, the attacker and his teammates unfortunately missed out on the world's biggest tournament following a 2-0 defeat.
As bad as Kulusevski felt after the game, things soon changed once he returned to Tottenham's Enfield training base.
“I think that was one of the hardest defeats I’ve had to take in my life,” he added. “It was the first time I’ve been really, really sad and disappointed with football, but that happens, life goes on, you can’t cry about it, you have to do things better, you have to work harder.
“And when I came back here, really, I forgot about it. I couldn’t change it, so it doesn’t matter if I think about it. I just came here, and it is really positive.”
