Pundit fears Spurs star could drop to the bench this season because he is ‘a little bit slow’

Darren Ambrose has questioned whether Tottenham Hotspur winger Dejan Kulusevski should be starting for Spurs next season, describing the Swede as a ‘bit slow’.

Kulusevski’s struggles at Tottenham

Kulusevski had a dream start to life at Spurs when he first arrived from Juventus on a loan-to-buy deal in January 2022 (BBC Sport).

With five goals and eight assists in just 18 Premier League appearances, the Swedish international looked the real deal (Premier League).

Unfortunately, the 24-year-old has struggled to live up to his early form at Spurs. In his first full season at Tottenham, Kulusevski only managed two goals and seven assists and while his performances improved last season, he still failed to hit double figures on goals, while getting just three assists (Transfer Markt).

Some supporters have questioned whether Kulusevski would be better suited to the attacking midfield role rather than out wide, which Postecoglou appears to be experimenting with this pre-season.

Ambrose critical of Kulusevski

Darren Ambrose has gone further than merely suggesting a positional change for Kulusevski. He told talkSPORT (27/07/24 at 4:00 pm) that the Sweden international could lose his place in the starting XI altogether this season.

Ambrose said: “The consistency is the keyword there. I think when he [Kulusevski] first arrived, he came with Bentancur, and he really transformed the season.

“But then last season, he has been caught out a few times, ponders on the ball and is a little bit slow.

“Maybe someone that could become an impact player, as supposed to a starting player. Depending on who comes into the team. But would he want that? Would Ange Postecoglou want a player that’s unhappy to be on the substitutes bench?

“If he can get back to the original form when he first arrived. I thought he was fantastic. That’s key, you need to be progressive and to progress you need your best players.”

SpursWeb Opinion

When Ange arrived at Tottenham, I mentioned in an opinion piece that Kulusevski may be too slow on the ball to fit into Postecoglou’s system (Spurs Web).

While these fears have been realised, he is still a player with quality who has had some standout performances for Spurs. He has arguably been our best performer during pre-season.

If someone better comes along then it is fair enough for Kulusevski to be benched and it is up to him to respond to that, but at this point in time he is Tottenham’s strongest right-wing option and I cannot see him being dropped altogether this season.

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