Tottenham Hotspur are set to sign Juventus forward Dejan Kulusevski on a loan deal with the option to buy.
After failed attempts to sign Wolves' Adama Traore and Porto's Luis Diaz, with the latter now having signed for Liverpool, a disappointing transfer window could be salvaged by the arrival of Kulusevski and his Juve teammate Rodrigo Bentancur, with Antonio Conte keen to add some depth to his squad.
The Swedish winger has previously been linked with fierce rivals Arsenal this transfer window, but Spurs are now in pole position, with Spurs' managing director of football Fabio Paratici having signed Kulusevski whilst we working with Juventus in 2019.
Kulusevski can play in multiple positions across the attacking line such as striker, winger and attacking midfield, making him an appealing player for Spurs with their attacking depth lacking.
So, when Kulusevski makes the move to Spurs this month, what sort of impact could he have on Conte's side?
Could the Swedish winger have a big enough impact to help Spurs in their top-four battle?
We simulated the rest of the season with Kulusevski at Spurs and this is what happened.
We 'signed' Dejan Kulusevski for Spurs in January 2022
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Kulusevski to join Spurs on January 28, 2022, with all results accurate to real-life.
This is how Kulusevski's in-game profile looks on FM22.
Let's take a look at how Kulusevski performed throughout the second half of the 2021/22 season after signing for Spurs in January 2022.
Kulusevski scored seven goals and registered one assist in 18 appearances for Spurs, a reasonable return for a new signing, with Conte putting him in the starting XI for the majority of Spurs' games following his arrival.
Along with his one goal in one FA Cup appearance, the 21-year-old made 17 appearances in the Premier League, scoring six goals and grabbing one assist in that time.
He averaged a rating of 7.18 per game, just above the average in the Spurs squad.
At the end of the 2021/22 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Spurs XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Spurs' best XI looked like at the end of the 2021/22 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Spurs best XI (4-3-3): Gollini; Royal, Romero, Dier, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Skipp, Winks; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
Kulusevski featured in Spurs' best XI for the 2021/22 season, supporting Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son in attack whilst keeping Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn out of the side.
Compared to the rest of the Spurs forwards, the Swedish winger was the fourth top scorer in the squad, with Kane and Son outscoring him, albeit with significantly more game time.
Only Lucas Moura registered less goals out of Spurs' top five scorers, but Kulusevski did manage the third-best rating out of the attackers, with only Kane and Son averaging higher.
So, how did The Lilywhites perform in the league after signing Kulusevski in the January transfer window?
Spurs' results from the 2021/22 simulation
Spurs were unable to secure Champions League qualification for the upcoming season, with Conte's side managing a sixth-place finish in the league.
In total, Spurs tallied 69 points, four less than Arsenal in fifth and eight behind Man United in fourth, meaning they qualified for Europa League football instead.
Overall, this Football Manager simulation predicts that if Spurs were to sign Dejan Kulusevski in January, the Swedish attacker on his own may not have a big enough impact to help Spurs claim a top-four finish, but enough of an impact to help Spurs improve on last season and earn Europa League qualification for the upcoming season.
If they want to challenge for the top four, Football Manager suggests that although Kulusevski would improve the side, more quality would be needed at Spurs.
Would you like to see Dejan Kulusevski sign for Tottenham? Let us know in the comments!
