Dejan Kulusevski is always looking to improve and the Tottenham Hotspur star has named two areas of his game that he needs to work hard on.
The 22-year-old has had a big impact on the Premier League with 19 goal involvements in 28 matches with 13 assists and six goals since arriving last year from Juventus. Kulusevski, who is currently out with a muscle injury, believes there are certain parts of his game that he needs to develop if he is to have a long-term impact.
"The thing with football is you can always improve every aspect," he said in an interview with Spurs for their most recent matchday programme. "The things I aim to improve on are things like my right foot and I have to get better with my head, heading wise. Those are the first two things I think about.
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"But then, you always want to get fitter, eat better and to have better discipline, to have two or three good weeks where you only eat good things, and you go to sleep at the right time because then everything else will be much easier. In the last few weeks, we have worked a lot on the running aspect, going in the gym and so the body could be in a really good place, and we could work more on things with the ball like shooting passing my right foot and heading."
Kulusevski admits that he is not good when he is out injured because he is too desperate to be back in action and that's something he really learned about himself after a hamstring injury before the World Cup, which kept him out for a month and games including the first north London derby of the season and four of Tottenham's Champions League group stage matches under Antonio Conte.
"It was a very important month, there were a lot of big games and we were in the middle of the Champions League group stage - so I couldn't be calm," he said. "The thing with me is, when I got injured and was told I would be out for two or three weeks, I was like 'I'll be back in one week'.
"In my mind, I was like, 'no, I'm going to be back faster than anyone thinks'. So I have to learn to take the time that (recovery) needs, | can’t rush these things, I'm not a machine. Even if I wanted to play before, it was not possible, so it was a very frustrating time. That's the thing I have to learn and get much better at. I have to respect the doctors and everyone.
"I'm happy though that the team did very well in that period and we're through in the Champions League so it will give me the chance to play in it, I hope, in February. I'm very happy with what I saw. I then came back with a lot of energy and I'm happy that I got to play a part In the last couple of games before the break. Being injured is the most boring thing as a football player."
Another player currently out with an injury, which he suffered at the World Cup, is Rodrigo Bentancur. The Uruguayan joined Tottenham with Kulusevski last January and has had a similar impact and has in recent months added important goals to his locker.
"With the injuries before the break, the coach had to change the formation a little bit, so we started to play three in the middle and Rodrigo had to get higher up the pitch," explained Kulusevski.
"He has so much quality and also, he’s in a great mood. The thing is, as well, when you score one, you usually score in the one after and it just grows from there.
"He was in a fantastic moment, and he just kept scoring, a lot of late goals also so I'm very happy for him because he is a fantastic person and a crazy player as well. He's one of my favourites. I hope he can help us even more. in the second half of this campaign."
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