Postecoglou says Spurs player has been ‘out of this world’ in his new position
Ange Postecoglou has praised Dejan Kulusevski for his performances in central midfield and made an admission about moving the attacker to the middle of the park.
New lease of life
While Kulusevski did produce the occasional moment of magic on the right last season, on the whole, he looked much better in the few games that he played through the middle.
The Swede has not looked back since being moved to the number eight role by Postecoglou this season, with his performance against Man United arguably being the best he’s produced in a Tottenham shirt for a couple of years.
Postecoglou’s praise
Postecoglou admitted that he could not use Kulusevski centrally last season since he was short of options out wide. The Tottenham head coach added that the 24-year-old’s running power in the middle of the park makes Tottenham a much harder side to play against.
When asked about Kulusevski’s performances in his new role, Postecoglou told Football.London: “Deki is doing great. He’s been out of this world in many respects as to what he’s able to do in a central role.
“We used him wide last year because we didn’t have too many options out there and that’s where he was comfortable.
“We started using him inside and I felt he felt that it unshackled him a little bit. He has an unbelievable capacity to run on and off the ball, his physical numbers are ridiculous and he has the quality to hurt teams with that.”
Ange makes admission over new role
Postecoglou admitted that the former Juventus man feels more comfortable as the number eight since he is able to be more involved in matches.
The 59-year-old further whetted the appetite of Spurs fans but suggested that Kulusevski is ‘just getting started’ in the central role.
The Aussie coach added: “At times out wide he might’ve felt suppressed, especially in our system where you have to hold your position and not be involved, he’s a player who wants to be involved. We brought a couple of wide players in this year and I thought let’s go with him inside.
“We played with him as a nine in pre-season and he made an impact. The beauty of Deki is he’s just getting started, he enjoys the role, he brings a different dimension to us because there are not many players like him.”
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