Dejan Kulusevski has admitted that he loves "suffering" as he gets set to work under Antonio Conte at Tottenham.
In and out of Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus team this season, Spurs' managing director of football Fabio Paratici returned to his old club and managed to strike a deal for the Sweden international before the January transfer deadline.
Starting on the bench in Saturday's 3-1 FA Cup win over Brighton & Hove Albion, the 21-year-old was introduced for the final 22 minutes of the contest and almost marked his debut with an assist, only for Steven Bergwijn to blaze over the crossbar after he teed him up.
Working his players incredibly hard since his appointment in November with demanding sessions at Hotspur Way to quickly get them up to the levels he wants, Kulusevski has already found that out for himself in his short time with Conte, including after the FA Cup win when the substitutes were involved in a rigorous post-match workout with fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone.
"I love suffering! That's one thing about me. From when I was born, I love suffering," he admitted.
"I love to work hard and I've already seen how they work. It's incredible. Just now, after the game, we had a crazy session.
"So I love being here and love work because I know my body can get so much better."
Kulusevski may have only had a few training sessions at the club's Enfield base but he has already noticed a big difference between the training at Tottenham compared to Italy.
Although the training is much more intense than what he has been used to in Italy, the attacker believes it will only enhance his game.
"When I came here, the training here was much more different from Italy – in a very good way," said Kulusevski. "People are running faster, everything is faster to try to get us stronger.
"So it was very good because that's what I need – I need my body to feel alive so I can think faster with my head.
"So I'm very happy to be here and the more I train, the easier it'll be. It's very good conditions."
Kulusevski may only be 21 but he has worked under some big names in the game such as Andrea Pirlo and Allegri in the first few years of his career.
Now having the opportunity to play for Conte, the Tottenham boss was a huge factor in the ex-Atalanta man moving to north London.
"He was everything," he revealed. "Yes, firstly it's a fantastic club but with him you see how much more they run now.
"He has very good training, very good tactics, his staff are fantastic, he works a lot, he explains things, if you don't understand, he explains them again.
"So this week has been really amazing and I'm very, very honoured to be here."
He added: "To be my age, and have had so many good coaches that I have, is pretty amazing.
"Now being 21 and having Conte is just very, very good. He's a winner and I want to be a winner, so I think I'm on the right side."
Watching the first 68 minutes of the Brighton game from the sidelines, Kulusevski was left rather impressed by Harry Kane's ability to get on the ball and dictate play.
"He is unbelievable. Yes, up there," stated Kulusevski when asked where the Tottenham man ranks with the world-class players he's already played alongside.
"What impressed me was his technique, the way he stopped the ball and the way he changes the whole pitch with his passes from both feet. It is amazing really.
"And I know that when he has the ball I have to run because he will find me."
Some of the advice Kulusevski took on from Pirlo during their time together at Juventus could also work in Kane's favour over the coming weeks and months as they look to strike up a partnership.
"Pirlo is a fantastic coach and a fantastic guy. I spoke with him nearly every day and he always spoke to me a lot about how I should shape my body and how I can look for passes without showing the opposition where I am going to play the ball," he said.
"And that is exactly what I hope will help me to help Harry even more in the future."
