Premier League duo Arsenal and Everton reportedly tried to sign Dejan Kulusevski before Serie A giants Juventus snapped him up from Atalanta.
With that wand of a left foot weaving magic and pulling rabbits out of the proverbial hat on a weekly basis, it seemed only a matter of time before Dejan Kulusevski was named Scandinavia’s answer to Arjen Robben.
Though we didn’t exactly think it would be the manager of the Swedish national team who burdened the new Juventus signing with comparisons to one of the modern era’s true greats.
“Dejan hasn’t been with us for long, but has already shown he has great potential,” Janne Andersson tells Gazzetta dello Sport. “Considering his pace, his ball control and his finishing, I see him as similar to Robben.
“He works hard and is very quick. I think he’s perfect as a winger.”
On the day where David Moyes admitting to BeIN Sports that his Everton side narrowly missed out on signing ‘a lot of good players’, including Chelsea hero Michael Essien, it is tempting to wonder whether The Toffees will look back at Kulusevski with a great deal of regret in the coming years.
Everton made a £26 million bid for the Parma loanee, before Atlanta sold him to Juventus instead, according to Calciomercato. But if there is any Premier League outfit who should have their head buried in their hands, it is Arsenal.
According to Goal, The Gunners missed out on the chance to sign Kulusevski for as little as £86,000 long before he established himself as one of Serie A’s most influential attackers. Arsenal came calling again in the winter, via Tuttomercatoweb, but once again their interest came to nothing – leaving the declining Mesut Ozil as their creator in chief.
The list of top-class players who have slipped through Arsenal’s grasp over the years is long and varied, including but not limited to Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Yaya Toure.
And if Kulusevski lives up to those Robben comparisons and thrives in Turin, he will feel like another one-that-got-away in North London.
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