Ange Postecoglou was forced to frequently shuffle his pack in terms of selection due to a number of injuries, including Maddison.
The Spurs manager decided to start Dejan Kulusevski in a more central role as part of that pack movement.
And while Maddison is sidelined, the £25 million Swedish winger thinks he can still play the position.
Kulusevski exuded confidence as he talked to Football.London about the Villa match and his capacity to replace Maddison.
“Today, I felt amazing—like the real Dejan.” Today, I felt like myself, and the coach made the placement decision. I had a great time and liked playing today. For me, it was an amazing day,” Kulusevski remarked.Without a doubt. It’s nothing new to me; I’ve done it my entire life. Naturally, I played right flank in the second half, but I was in good form. I’m thrilled because I feel great physically and I know I’m on the correct track to get better and keep playing this way.
It’s encouraging to hear that Kulusevski is so self-assured and eager to step up and cover for the absence of such a significant player.
Despite his hard work and talent, he is not the same player as James Maddison, and at times it was evident.
Kulusevski is not Maddison; he possesses unique skills and attributes. That’s not to say he can’t have a significant impact on the game; he’s simply not quite as good as “Madders” in some areas of his game.
Both players should ideally be in Tottenham’s starting lineup, and the sooner that happens, the better.
Kulusevski will keep doing his hardest and making a contribution. However, he’s not quite at Maddison’s level in that more prominent role just yet.
