What a start to the 2022/23 Premier League season for Antonio Conte and his Tottenham side. Spurs started their campaign with a match against Southampton on home soil and they didn't disappoint.
After a slightly shaky start, all the positives from last season came right to the forefront and it was an overall solid performance, with some good goals from the Lilywhites. Ryan Sessegnon and Eric Dier both got on the scoresheet but one of the standout performers was the other goalscorer, Dejan Kulusevski.
The 22-year-old has been in N17 for just under eight months and his impact has exceeded all expectations. In just 18 Premier League features last season, the Swedish international scored five goals and registered eight assists and he has already began his goal tally for this campaign.
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In the 4-1 victory against the Saints, Kulusevski was on the pitch for 86 minutes, before being replaced by Lucas Moura. In that time he made an impact at both ends of the field.
The winger had two shots, produced three key passes, made four tackles and had 92.3 per cent passing accuracy. Kulusevski has been making an impact since his arrival at the start of the year, however the new arrivals may be making him work that extra bit harder, due to the competition and added pressure he now faces.
The Swede seems to be going from strength to strength and has exactly what Conte will be looking for in his top players. After the match, the Italian was asked about what characteristics he was looking for in his new signings.
"The characteristics are to play intense football and to play this type of modern football, the players has to have quality, it is normal he has quality but at the same time he has to be strong physically, a good engine, stamina because this league is very, very difficult. It is totally different to other leagues and we need players with this characteristic to have quality but to be strong physically and to run, to run a lot," he admitted. "To bring intensity during a game because I like to press but you need to have a player strong to do high pressure and this type of football."
This may be what he was looking for in his new arrivals, but it also seems to be exactly what Kulusevski is bringing to the Tottenham side. On Match of the Day on Saturday night, Ian Wright gave his assessment of the youngsters performance.
Despite Wright being a former Arsenal player and big Gunners fan, he didn't fail to spot the solid display from the Swede and although maybe a bit surprising, was full of praise for one of the stars of the game. "Unbelievable impact," he said.
"If I was a Tottenham fan at the moment, I would be feeling happy with the new signings because we've got a player that at 22, listening to these managers talking about how humble he is and that he wants to learn, it's fantastic."
There were then in-action clips of the 22-year-old shown, as Wright continued his analysis. "You give him time and space like this, you're going to be in trouble," he admitted.
"You don't want him to come back on his left foot because he doesn't get it wrong. He doesn't deliver wrong when he's got time.
"We're talking about somebody who, not only he can pick a pass out, he can cross the ball, he can score goals, he can do everything. He's got this clever play about him, just the awareness for someone at 22," Wright added.
The 58-year-old finished his analysis by making a bold statement on the January arrival, but one that is fully deserved. "We're talking about pure quality. World-class he's going onto."
The BBC programme also showed that only Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in the Premier League have more goal involvements than the Swede, since February this year. Kulusevski's 15 involvements is equal to Man City's Kevin De Bruyne and three more than Mohamed Salah.
What is also so impressive about Kulusevski is his maturity at such a young age, which he showed in his post match comments. "I have missed playing. It’s so nice to be back and play in front of the fans and family. I really enjoyed it," he said.
"All my goals come from this area, or three or four metres back. I have to keep scoring these but also keep evolving my game and score different goals.
"For me, I have to grow. I have to get better in every way. I want to become a better football player so I have got to keep listening to my fantastic coach, be humble and keep living my dream," the Swede added.
His ambition and willingness to improve will only be positives for Conte to hear and if Kulusevski is making this impact at 22 and after being at the club just eight months, imagine the player he could become as the years go by.
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