It’s been an utterly bonkers campaign for Tottenham Hotspur this year.
Ange Postecoglou’s great entertainers can look like one of the best teams in Europe one weekend, and then the very next game look completely lost at sea.
Just before the international break, the Australian’s side handed Ipswich Town their first Premier League win of the season at home and looked, for all intents and purposes, like they were stuck in a worrying rut.
Yet, in their first game back on Saturday evening, the North Londoners totally dismantled reigning champions Manchester City in one of the most impressive and comprehensive wins we’ve seen this season, and one of their standout players from the day is now leading the Premier League in one vital metric.
Spurs’ top performers
So, before we get to the player in question, let’s examine a few of the Lilywhites’ other top performers this season, starting with Brennan Johnson.
The Welsh international endured a tough start to the campaign, which saw him delete his Instagram account due to fan harassment following the club’s North London defeat in September, but since then, he’s been electric.
For example, across all competitions, the former Nottingham Forest gem has scored eight goals and provided one assist in 18 appearances, equating to an average of a goal involvement every other game, making him the club’s top scorer and the joint-most productive overall.
The Lilywhites star who sits alongside the winger at the moment is summer signing Dominic Solanke, who had a lot of pressure on his shoulders coming into the campaign due to that £65m price tag, but has dealt with it quite well.
For example, in just 16 appearances this season, the former Liverpool gem has scored six goals and provided three assists, so while he’d likely want more of the former, he’s still averaging a goal involvement every 1.77 games.
However, there is another Spurs star who is not just beating out the likes of Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer in one key metric but the entire Premier League.
Spurs’ league leading star
Now, there are a few other Spurs stars who have enjoyed some success so far this season, be that Son Heung-min, with his tally of three goals and four assists in 12 matches, or James Maddison, who bagged a brace against City on the weekend.
However, the Lilywhites ace in question is Swedish international Dejan Kulusevski, who has been enjoying arguably his best season with the club to date this year.
Postecoglou has opted to start the “special” talent, as dubbed by Sky Sports reporter James Weir, in midfield for most of his appearances this season, and so far, he’s racked up an impressive haul of two goals and six assists in 18 games.
Kulusevski’s 24/25 |
|
---|---|
Appearances |
18 |
Minutes |
1188′ |
Goals |
2 |
Assists |
6 |
Goal Involvements per Match |
0.44 |
Minutes per Goal Involvement |
144.5′ |
All Stats via Transfermarkt |
However, the clash with City proved that the former Juventus ace is still more than capable of performing on the wing, as he picked up an assist and was awarded a 9/10 match rating by Alasdair Gold, who described the 24-year-old’s display as ‘sublime.’
Impressively, his efforts against the Champions on Saturday also helped him overtake Saka, Palmer and Andreas Pereira to become the Premier League leader for chances created in open play this season.
The Stockholm-born maestro has now created 33 chances from open play this campaign, while the three aforementioned players have created 32 each.
This impressive statistic just helps to prove yet again, that in Kulusevski, Spurs have a genuinely unbelievable talent on their hands and that when talent scout Jacek Kulig labelled the Swede “world-class” in the past, he wasn’t even remotely hyperbolic.
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The sensational talent has a bright future at Spurs.