Chadder View: Tottenham and Ange Posetcoglou must demand more from Dejan Kulusevski
Matthew Chadder is a lifelong Tottenham fan who grew up just down the road from his beloved club in North London. He’s now putting his passion for Spurs into words with a daily fan view for Tottenham News…
Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski is quickly becoming at risk of becoming a ‘what if’ player.
If I had a pound for every Tottenham player that didn’t live up to their full potential, or just didn’t hit the heights fans expected them to hit, I would have been watching Ollie Watkins put Villa ahead on a yacht in the Bahamas.
Over the years so many young stars at the club have shown so much promise and so much potential, but just not quite lived up to that promise and potential. I am afraid that the same fate could soon fall on Kulusevski.
The timing of this piece might seem weird, and I at least feel weird myself writing this now, because I actually think the Sweden international had his best performance of the season so far in the number ten role against Aston Villa, perhaps something which will give Ange Postecoglou food for thought going forward.
But once again, it was a performance which promised so much, but in the end, just didn’t live up to that promise.
No moment summarises that more than when he struck the post during a dominant opening spell for Tottenham. He had done all the hard work, latched on to what was a fairly overhit pass, and beaten his man, but with the whole goal to aim at, he couldn’t find the back of the net.
My fear is that one passage of play could be a microcosm of his time at the club so far. So often coming so close, but just lacking that final bit of quality to really make a name for himself.
I remember one of my first experiences as a journalist was attending Tottenham’s 5-1 win against Newcastle United two seasons ago under Antonio Conte. I got to attend the post-match press conference and spoke to Conte about how well Kulusevski had settled into the club.
Since then, he just hasn’t been able to maintain that level.
I forgave him for last season, he was playing under a defensive manager who didn’t suit his strengths in a team low on confidence, and when Postecoglou arrived with his promise of attacking football, it was Kulusevski who I was most excited to see shining under the Australian.
Unfortunately, three goals in 13 league games this season just isn’t good enough, and he needs to be offering much more.
He is young, and he still has plenty of time, but football is a cruel sport, unforgiving, and it moves fast. There is so much potential within the 23-year-old, and he must now tap into it.
Postecoglou needs to demand more from him, the fans need to demand more from him, and most importantly Kulusevski needs to demand more from himself because there is no reason why he can’t be a Tottenham star for years to come.
With Maddison out, now is really the time for Kulusevski to step up and show everyone just how good he can be.
In other Tottenham news, the club could have the upper hand in the race to sign a young midfield gem.