Tottenham Hotspur winger Dejan Kulusevski really enjoyed playing in more of a central role against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Dejan Kulusevski felt like his real self as Tottenham Hotspur fell to a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa.
Tottenham are without a host of key players right now and that was abundantly clear on Sunday afternoon.
First-choice midfield trio Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison were all ruled out against Villa.
That meant Rodrigo Bentancur and Giovani Lo Celso starting their first league games of the season and Kulusevski playing a slightly different role.
Dejan Kulusevski reacts to Tottenham Hotspur position change
We are used to seeing Kulusevski operate on the right flank, cutting inside onto his left foot.
The Swede isn’t the fastest winger of all time though and some have wondered whether he could play more centrally.
Kulusevski moved infield at times against Villa, often popping up as a number 10 with Brennan Johnson down the right flank.
Three key passes, one shot on target, one shot off the post, two tackles won and six successful dribbles; Kulusevski had a big impact.
This was a fairly new role for Kulusevski in a Tottenham shirt and he has now spoken to Football London about his switch.
Kulusevski admitted that he ‘felt so good’ against Villa and felt like his real self, noting that he ‘had real fun’ playing more centrally.
Kulusevski moved wider again after the break but feels that he can make a lasting impact if deployed as a number 10.
“I felt so good today, I felt like the real Dejan,” said Kulusevski. “I felt like myself today and the coach decided where to put me. I enjoyed and I had real fun playing today. It was a great day for me.”
“Absolutely. I’ve done it all my life so it’s nothing new to me. Of course in the second half I played right wing but I felt good. Physically I feel really good so I’m happy and I know I’m on the right path to make better and continue to play like this,” he added when asked if he can take on James Maddison’s creative role.
Kulusevski could shine in Maddison absence
Losing a creative player like Maddison is always going to hurt and it’s hard to find similar players who would be happy to serve as his backup.
Kulusevski has now shown that he does have the ability to play that role, where his lack of top-end pace isn’t as noticeable.
That would give Johnson and Bryan Gil the chance to play out wide as Tottenham continue to deal with their injury woes.
This is something Ange Postecoglou surely has to consider deploying again in the future with Kulusevski clearly keen to play in that role if called upon.
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