Glenn Hoddle rates Dejan Kulusevski highly and believes he must start for Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester City this weekend.
Tottenham were in Champions League action on Wednesday night and got off to the perfect start against Marseille.
It took a while – and a red card – but Tottenham did finally break Marseille down in the second half.
Richarlison bagged two headers to give Tottenham a 2-0 victory, sending Marseille back to France empty-handed.
Glenn Hoddle rates Dejan Kulusevski highly
A win is just what Tottenham fans wanted after more than two years out of the Champions League, but the next challenge is a big one.
Spurs head north to take on Manchester City on Saturday evening, giving Antonio Conte’s men a very short turnaround period.
Conte will have to manage his squad carefully, especially with another Champions League clash coming up next week.
Some may have expected more rotation against Marseille, especially with the likes of Davinson Sanchez and Yves Bissouma on the bench.
Conte decided to go with much of the same side that beat Fulham last weekend though, including Richarlison down the right flank.
The Brazilian came in for Dejan Kulusevski and then kept his place for the Marseille game, justifying his inclusion with two goals.
So what now for Kulusevski? The Swede bagged a goal and an assist away at City earlier this year and made a huge impact off the bench against Marseille.
This is a really tough call for Conte, who surely won’t want to drop big names Son Heung-min or Harry Kane in attack.
Tottenham hero and former Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle has now had his say, telling BT Sport (07/09, 10pm) that he thinks Kulusevski simply has to start against City.
Hoddle noted that it’s not as easy as just starting Richarlison again, with City a much tougher challenge than Marseille.
Hoddle even thinks Son could drop out of the team in order to play Richarlison on the left and Kulusevski on the right of Kane.
“That’s a different kettle of fish,” said Hoddle. “Completely different game, they go up to City and know they can turn City over – they beat them twice last year, home and away. Conte will sit down with his staff and – no disrespect to Marseille at home – playing against Manchester City is a tough ask. He will pick a team to specifically get that result and Richarlison may actually go on the bench.”
“Kulusevski, for me, needs to play against Manchester City. Son wasn’t at his best again tonight, he needs a goal, once he gets a goal he’ll be fine. Conte might even look to put Richarlison on that left hand side. It’s very tough to bring somebody out of the team who’s just scored two goals. Son might need that, he’s trying hard, maybe too hard,” he added.
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