Dejan Kulusevski has shown glimpses of what he is capable of for Spurs over the last three years, but he’s never quite hit the highs of that first season at the club. So, what can he do to regain his best form? The answer is simple.
The Swedish star arrived at Spurs, initially on loan, in January 2022. His impact was immediate, providing five goals and eight assists in 18 games as the Lilywhites marched to fourth place.
In the following season, injury issues and a loss of form — very likely exacerbated by a dismal campaign all round for Tottenham under Antonio Conte — saw Kulusevski manage just two goals and seven assists all season.
Last term, under Ange Postecoglou, Kulusevski found his shooting boots and registered eight goals, but only managed three assists.
Since that dazzling first few months at the club, one big problem has plagued Kulusevski’s game and prevented him from achieving his full potential: He’s just too predictable.
Playing predominantly on the right-wing, the 24-year-old relies far too heavily on cutting inside onto his left foot. This worked wonders in the early days of his time in England, but defenders have quickly caught on to his trademark trick, and it seems Kulusevski is averse to simply using his right foot instead.
If he could just add some variety to his game, take his man wide rather than coming inside, whip a ball in with his right instead of trying to fake and shoot with his left, I believe we would see far higher returns from the Swede.
The thing is, it’s not like Kulusevski cannot use his right foot. Some players are frustratingly one-footed, but we have seen evidence that the Spurs man can be effective when he embraces his ambipedal qualities.
Whenever I see him pivoting inside onto his left foot, I sigh and think back to the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest last December. A masked Kulusevski picked up a loose ball from Forest keeper Matt Turner (controlling it with his right foot, I may add), before taking on a defender and absolutely smashing a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
I’m not saying Kulusevski should abandon his left foot, because he has real quality there and it does serve us well. But, by mixing it up every now and again, he will keep defenders guessing, add variety to his deliveries, and you’d think it would produce more chances for the team.
The post Opinion: Kulusevski needs to fix this one problem to get back to his best at Spurs appeared first on The Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.
