This time last year Dejan Kulusevski was making the Premier League sit up and take notice after helping transform Antonio Conte's Spurs side following his January switch from Juventus. Departing Turin for Tottenham along with teammate Rodrigo Bentancur, the pair played pivotal roles in helping the Lilywhites put their inconsistency woes behind them to secure a Champions League berth on the final day of the campaign.
Always a tough ask for foreign players to come to the Premier League and hit the ground running, Kulusevski made his mark in England in this third Spurs league game with a goal and an assist in their shock 3-2 win over Man City. There was no looking back from that moment for the Swede.
Kulusevski's play in the final third proved vital in the run-in, contributing five goals and eight assists in 18 Premier League games. Forming a fearsome front three with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min to leave their opponents petrified, the 22-year-old also clicked with Matt Doherty down the right flank in next to no time and become a key cog in Conte's Tottenham team.
READ MORE: Cristian Stellini could be handed Tottenham boost vs Bournemouth that changes his thinking
Starting this campaign where he left off last May as he notched a goal and assist in the 4-1 demolition of Southampton on the opening day, Kulusevski has unfortunately struggled to hit the heights of last term and only has one goal to his name since his strike on the first weekend of the season.
In terms of assists, the attacker is in a good position to better the eight he created last season as he is currently on seven, but that is all going to come down to the player rediscovering his form in the final third in the remaining eight games of the season. Since football paused in November for the World Cup, Kulusevski has scored once and assisted two goals, with his last assist coming in the 3-3 draw against Southampton in Conte's final game in charge of Tottenham.
Despite his struggles to rack up the numbers in 2023, regular game time has been there for the player under both Conte and new acting head coach Cristian Stellini. Although far from his best at present, the Stockholm-born ace has shown flashes of his quality but it's his final action in and around the box that is letting him down at present.
Probably expected by many to regularly chip in with goals and assists over the course of the season given the incredibly high standards he set 12 months ago, it's quite easy to forget that the player is only 22 years of age going on the amount of games he's played and what he has so far achieved in his young career. The ex-Parma loanee is still only a few years into his career and many of a similar age have dips and are plagued by inconsistency.
Tottenham's No.21, who has been hit with a couple of injury issues this term, is having a tough season but he has all the tools in his locker to rediscover his form and play his part in Tottenham making big strides . After all, form is temporary, class is permanent.
Kulusevski isn't the only Tottenham attacker that has struggled this campaign, though, with Son Heung-min and Richarlison very much in the same boat. Whereas Son could maybe benefit from his wonderstrike against Brighton & Hove Albion last Saturday and start to edge back to his best, his Tottenham teammate could certainly do with a similar moment to spark him into life.
The player won't be happy with his goal output so far as his tally of two is set to be his lowest since making the step up to professional football unless he goes on a goal flurry in what remains of the 2022/23 season. In order for Tottenham to be at the top of their game and firing on all cylinders, the team need Kulusevski to be on song and influencing matches as he was immediately after his move from Juventus.
With Champions League qualification up for grabs, Stellini must find a way of ensuring that the Sweden star is at the peak of his powers in the run-in. If that is to be the case then Kulusevski could have a big say on where exactly Tottenham finish in the Premier League table come the final day.
READ NEXT:
Djed Spence benched, Gil returns to England, fans bewildered over Joe Rodon and Lo Celso stars
Harry Kane gives verdict on Antonio Conte Tottenham exit and Abdoulaye Doucoure Everton red card
Son Heung-min outlines Roberto De Zerbi Brighton tactic vs Tottenham that he took advantage of
The reason Roberto De Zerbi was upset with Cristian Stellini and what Romero did after Son goal
Every word Cristian Stellini said on Roberto De Zerbi, red card, Son, Tottenham and the top four
