After more than 500 days on the sidelines, Dejan Kulusevski felt like the cliché new signing as he made his return for Tottenham Hotspur.
Having previously won one home game in 2026 so far, Spurs fans have rarely left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with anything resembling optimism in recent times but they had plenty of reasons to feel like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel on Monday.
A first league win of the season in which Tottenham scored three goals for the first time since October 2025 included a cameo for a player many Spurs fans would have fairly forgotten all about.
The world’s longest ‘knock’ as it was first described by Ange Postecoglou saw Kulusevski return to the pitch in the 83rd minute and even if he only made nine touches, all of them were ones to enjoy as a Spurs fan.
His first touches came with a quick one-two with Conor Gallagher and had he not slipped, it could have been him rather than Ben Davies who scored later on. After Mathys Tel’s shot was half-heartedly cleared, Kulusevski was in a perfect spot to strike it but his trailing foot slipped on the turf.
His next involvements came on the break and were the ones that will have given Spurs fans plenty of hope about what was to come.
Starting from just inside Spurs’ half, Kulusevski was able to get down the right wing, hitting a top speed of 19.2 miles per hour, but was lacking options for him to play the ball to.
Still, that sprint was met with rapturous applause from the home fans who were not only happy to see their team attacking but one of the better players involved.
His final touches came late on when he picked up the ball on the right flank before beating his man but it may still take him a while to get his aim back as his cross was into the hands of Karl Rushworth.
In the end, Kulusevski’s nine-minute cameo ended with four out of four passes completed and one successful dribble with one successful cross. He even got two recoveries of the ball.
Perhaps more importantly for the Spurs medical department was that Kulusevski felt comfortable enough with his knee to sprint. Doing so four times and travelling 111m at full pace.
It was often the words of Arsene Wenger but having Kulusevski back, who is only 26, will feel like a new signing for a Spurs team that has struggled most of all to score goals.
The three on Monday doubled their tally for the season so far and while Kulusevski’s brief involvement suggests he is not yet ready to start, having him as an option from the bench will be a bonus for the next few games which see them travel to Stamford Bridge before facing the struggling Crystal Palace.
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