Dejan Kulusevski has detailed exactly how Ange Postecoglou's training sessions have already changed this season, why he must change his own game for the Tottenham boss and how Lucas Bergvall can become a star.
Spurs have been working in the heat and humidity of Japan and now South Korea on their summer tour with what is a 31-man squad now Radu Dragusin has joined up following his post-Euros rest. Kulusevski in particular has looked sharp throughout pre-season and when asked whether Tottenham will be challenging at the top this season as Postecoglou expects, he mentioned that the Australian's training sessions have changed this summer with exactly that in mind.
"[This club] has to be, has to be [challenging at the top], and I think we showed glimpses of that last year, but we have to do it for one whole year, I think that’s maybe the harder part of it, to not play good for maybe a month and then you go down a little bit," the 24-year-old told football.london.
"I think you have to do it the whole year, like the other teams, like Man City and Arsenal did it last year, so that is what we are trying to train. I noticed already a little bit of change in the training, and we are very, very focused on doing much better than last year."
When asked to clarify exactly what changes he had spotted, the Swede said: "I noticed that it’s much more about how we’re playing, and every exercise has been thinking a lot of making the players understand how we want to play.
"Maybe last year was much more just play, you know, play and do your things, but now, it’s much more...they’ve been thinking a lot about training sessions and trying to make everyone understand what they want from them in the team."
That fits in perfectly with Postecoglou's comments during last season that his first campaign is often spent getting his players to understand his philosophy and then the second campaign is more about putting in the tactical layers on top.
Kulusevski is about to enter his fourth season at Spurs, having contributed 15 goals and 19 assists in 96 games for the north London club since arriving from Juventus, initially on loan. He arrived very much as a right winger under Antonio Conte and was a huge success in his first half-season at the club, hitting the ground running with 13 goal involvements in his first 18 Premier League matches.
However, while he has still popped up in some big moments for Spurs with important goals, he has been less consistent with his output in his two full seasons since and the past 12 months have shown that he is not the most natural fit for Postecoglou's winger roles. The Australian wants two wide forwards, with both meant to remain high up the pitch and hitting the touchline, either getting to the byline and hitting low balls across or trying to score from the crosses coming from the other side.
Kulusevski prefers to cut inside on to his left foot. If anything, the Sweden international has enjoyed more success under Postecoglou in the midfield three during James Maddison's injury absence, a role that he told football.london two summers ago was his favourite position. The Swede admitted that he will have to adapt his game to be a Postecoglou winger.
"A little bit, of course, because you have to do what the manager wants, because the team has a clear path in how they want to play," he said. "Of course, a winger, you see less of the ball, but you have to be ready all the time to go in the space and put early balls in to cross and always be ready to score goals – while in the middle, you’re much more involved, so I have to [adapt], of course, when I play.
"I have to look where I am on the pitch and what I can do for the team, but I have to stay aware of everything, because it can change within a game also. I maybe start as a midfielder, then you go out to be a winger, you know. Last year, I finished the last game as a striker, you've got to be ready for everything."
The Swede has been showing his versatility this summer, impressing in a false nine role with an assist for Pedro Porro against Vissel Kobe in a 3-2 win in Tokyo on Saturday. You get the sense that as he said two years ago, Kulusevski still feels that he belongs in a central role rather than pushed out wide.
"I think last year was the first time I played as a number 10 in the Premier League, so people could see what I can do from that position," he said, "This upcoming season, I’ve been playing in the middle in training sessions and in the beginning of the games, but I also know that sometimes I will have to play other roles, and I will have to be prepared to do everything, because ultimately, the only goal is to win, so it doesn’t matter where you play, you just have to what’s best for the team always."
Kulusevski now has a fellow Swede at the club in the shape of Lucas Bergvall, the talented 18-year-old choosing an £8.5million move to Spurs from Djurgarden over a switch to Barcelona. The two Scandinavians have been inseparable on the tour to Asia, always spotted walking around together and chatting away, with Bergvall admitting to football.london that Kulusevski has been a big brother to him.
"Honestly, it feels amazing," said Kulusevski. "It’s just nice for me, you know, just to speak Swedish, to have a brother that did everything that I did when I was young because he’s from the same club. We had the same friends, same coaches when we were young, so you know, it’s cool and life is crazy, you know, you never thought a couple of years ago, but now we’re here together, and competing to win together. He’s a really good player, really good guy, and I’m happy that the club brought him in."
"I don’t know [if I'm a big brother to him], you’ll have to ask him," added the older Swede with a laugh. "I just know that I’m here for him, whatever he asks, but he’s very intelligent, he has amazing principles in life and that will take him far."
Bergvall has already been exciting the Tottenham supporters with his displays so far in pre-season but exactly how good can the teenager become?
"He’s very good, obviously, like, everybody’s seen him," said Kulusevski. "Then, of course, I haven’t seen him at this level and everything, like, we have to give him time; we have to give him time for a lot of new challenges, but what’s important is that the talent is there and the work rate.
"He’s a good guy, so we, the coaches and the players have to be here for him to help him in any way, if he needs it – maybe he doesn’t need it, and he can go straight to the top from the beginning."
Bergvall and Kulusevski both came through the famed Brommapojkarna academy on the outskirts of Stockholm, a youth set-up that also produced the likes of Anders Limpar, Viktor Gyokeres and Tottenham Hotspur Women's Amanda Nilden among others. Kulusevski explained what makes it so special.
"All of the players [in Sweden] come from that club," he said. "It’s an amazing club, because they compete from the young years, like from seven-years-old we trained every day. We went so hard and we just competed, so we got better and they brought in the best players in the country, so every day you competed against good players. It’s an amazing club that did very good things, so it’s just the fantasy of players coming from there and having all the same coaches."
Kulusevski did something different though after that. When football.london spoke to former Brommapojkarna academy head Peter Kisfaludy about the Tottenham man back in February, the experienced coach explained how a tough 15-year-old showed courage in making the move to Italy before he had even broken into the Bromma senior team to join Atalanta instead, a switch that took him far away from his family and friends.
When that was put to him, Kulusevski reminisced and agreed that it was a moment in his career that shaped him as a person and as a footballer.
"Yeah, for sure. I did something nobody has ever done, because at that age, they don’t go outside [Sweden], but I thought that was the right thing for me, so it was amazing, like, honestly. I think about it a lot," he admitted. "It was amazing. I have friends from all over the world that played in that Atalanta team. It was pretty similar to what we did at Brommapojkarna, so it was fun, and I think that it's a good thing for young boys to leave all their security at home and try some more difficulty."
So could his quick adaptation to the Premier League be put down to those tough, formative years in Bergamo and the need to quickly adjust to a new lifestyle, culture and style of football.
"Yeah, I think so, because leaving the family, leaving your school and your friends when you’re 15, so I feel at home where my head is, it doesn’t matter what country I am in, because I always feel at home where I am, so I think that I learned that from a young age," he admitted.
Kulusevski once said that he "loves pain" and loves to suffer, so of course while every Tottenham player has been shocked at first by the intense heat in Asia this pre-season, the ice-cool Swede has relished it.
"I love it, actually. The first day was the best, it was like 36 degrees, and it was like a complete shock for the body, but everything that’s hard in life is good, I think," he said. "I hope [it will prepare us for the tough season ahead], I think so, you know, because you learn how to play when you’re tired and when your body is not working as it should be, so I think it’s a good thing."
With a squad full of youngsters like Bergvall, fellow new signing and 18-year-old Archie Gray, a whole group of 19-year-olds from the U21s and even a 16-year-old star-in-the-making in Mikey Moore, Kulusevski, who turned 24 in April and recently became a father for the first time, must feel ancient,
"Yeah, it’s crazy to see. I always felt like I was the youngest, but I’m not the youngest anymore, but I think I know the players better, I have a much better relationship with all the players on the team, and the club, but I feel like I’ve been here a couple of years," he said. "I know everything that should be done and I know everything that we have to improve on, so I for sure feel like I could take on much more responsibility now than before."
One man who has taken more responsibility in the past year is Son Heung-min, who took over the captaincy from Hugo Lloris and the club's star mantle from Harry Kane. Kulusevski has been impressed with the impact the South Korean star has had around the club in his elevated role.
"I think he’s doing a really good job and is an example every day and trying to push the young players, because he has to do it," he said. "He’s the main man, he’s the biggest star of the club, you know, and the captain, so I think that he is doing a great job. He's just himself, you know, he doesn’t want to copy anybody, he’s just being himself, and it’s impressive, really, it’s a joy for us to be under him."
Kulusevski believes his own relationship with Son has blossomed on and off the pitch since he arrived at the club.
"Now it’s developing, but especially outside the pitch, I feel like we’re becoming really good friends, and we respect each other a lot, and we love to work," he said. "We want to push the whole group forward, so I think that it's a blessing to play with him, and I think still we can achieve more than we have done."
For a man who has been linked with a move back to Serie A this summer by the Italian media, Kulusevski sounds like he's very much settled in north London and enjoying working with Postecoglou.
"Yeah, yeah, very much [at home], like I’m really a 100% today getting better," he said. " I just want to be much better, I want to be so good and help my team even more, so I just think about today, I'm just trying to live every day at my best."
