Player Watch Player Watch: Dejan Kulusevski

[Danny1]

Deki is 23 years old. He still has a lot of learning to do and there is a lot to love about his game. He was up against the best CDM in world football in Rodri so it was never going to be an easy game. Plus he has been out with illness so may not be fully match fit, but still put a proper shift in.

Get Sonny, Madders and Sarr back in the team and we will notice a different Deki.

 

[thePessimist]

That sequence 2nd half last night playing up from the back all the way up on the right side was really something

 

[nedley]

Squad player long term if we wanna get to where Ange wants to get to

Dunno about that.

I personally think he'll develop to be one of the first players on the team sheet.

Like he is now.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Dunno about that.

I personally think he'll develop to be one of the first players on the team sheet.

Like he is now.

He is definitely a very good player and will be important for us.

But I do worry about where his best role is. He couldn’t cope in midfield yesterday and out wide he just badly lacks the pace, agility and take on ability of an elite wide player. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad if we had those skills on the opposite flank though?

 

[nedley]

He is definitely a very good player and will be important for us.

But I do worry about where his best role is. He couldn’t cope in midfield yesterday and out wide he just badly lacks the pace, agility and take on ability of an elite wide player. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad if we had those skills on the opposite flank though?

Yeah. I think we've seen enough of him flourish on the flank with his own set of unique skills. He needs to improve his productivity but he's 23.

Having a proper 1 v 1 winger on the left will give opposition defenses enough to think about.

He was poor at 10 yesterday but he wasn't the only one.

I personally think he's a RW. A unique one though.

 

[Whazam]

Far from great yesterday, but I think people fail to understand just how well City pressed him and closed down our midfield in the game.

I'm not sure if he is a best fit for the 10 position, but not sure we should judge him based on yesterday's game. I struggle to see anyone succeeding with what he had to work with there yesterday.

For example, Maddison struggled just as much (I know, he's rusty and didn't play for that long, but he is also on a different level from Deki in tight spaces, and still had a very rough time).

 

[newbie]

Far from great yesterday, but I think people fail to understand just how well City pressed him and closed down our midfield in the game.

I'm not sure if he is a best fit for the 10 position, but not sure we should judge him based on yesterday's game. I struggle to see anyone succeeding with what he had to work with there yesterday.

For example, Maddison struggled just as much (I know, he's rusty and didn't play for that long, but he is also on a different level from Deki in tight spaces, and still had a very rough time).

Yes we have to also think City are the best team in the world and have been building up to this for years.

see where we are in 2-3 years

also people complained in the crowd " Its city we shouldn't try and play like this" i disagree if we want to build something we have to stick to our ethos, and yes we will loose game but in the long run it will pay off!

 

[Whazam]

Yes we have to also think City are the best team in the world and have been building up to this for years.

see where we are in 2-3 years

also people complained in the crowd " Its city we shouldn't try and play like this" i disagree if we want to build something we have to stick to our ethos, and yes we will loose game but in the long run it will pay off!

Totally agree. And we saw glimpses of it working in the second half. There was a 10 minute period where it said we had 71 % (if I remember correctly) of the ball, while getting into good positions.

Yesterday wasn't great, but we shouldn't judge our progress on that game either.

We're still moving in the right direction.

 

[superted4]

Love the kid as a player and a person but god ban him from using his left foot in training for a month. Got to use his right more, his body shape gives it away everytime

 

[Ghost Hardware]

My issue with him is that in this system I just don’t know what position he best suits. He isn’t good enough 1v1 and/or fast enough to be a WF and he isn’t instinctive enough and lacks vision to be a creative AM. He was certainly better when he came central second half and played one or two nice passes but he was sitting next to Maddison which opened up space for him.

There is no doubt he is lacking in confidence and he is still young so we certainly shouldn’t write him off. I just don’t know where his future lies in our current set up.

 

[spurs9]

I really like Kukusevski but don't think he is nailed on RW anymore, in fact, I think RW is more upgradeable than LW now.

In his 20 PL starts this season, he has failed to register a goal or assist in 15 of them, meaning he has only registered a goal involvement in 25% in games started for us in the league and that stats gets worse when you include the cups.

For context, the next worse % for players that play in the front 3, is Johnson on 41%. Only Gil has a worse %, (0) but has only started 2 games.

 

[tubbygold]

My issue with him is that in this system I just don’t know what position he best suits. He isn’t good enough 1v1 and/or fast enough to be a WF and he isn’t instinctive enough and lacks vision to be a creative AM. He was certainly better when he came central second half and played one or two nice passes but he was sitting next to Maddison which opened up space for him.

There is no doubt he is lacking in confidence and he is still young so we certainly shouldn’t write him off. I just don’t know where his future lies in our current set up.

I’ve thought for a while it was a mistake to make his loan permanent last summer. He has a banger of a game every once in a while, but it just feels like that first half season was a one off.

As to where he fits in, it’s a bit similar to Dele - he needs some kind of niche position that we don’t really have room for.

 

[ajspurs]

My issue with him is that in this system I just don’t know what position he best suits. He isn’t good enough 1v1 and/or fast enough to be a WF and he isn’t instinctive enough and lacks vision to be a creative AM. He was certainly better when he came central second half and played one or two nice passes but he was sitting next to Maddison which opened up space for him.

There is no doubt he is lacking in confidence and he is still young so we certainly shouldn’t write him off. I just don’t know where his future lies in our current set up.

I like him in games where maybe we're away from home and need to fight to hold onto the ball a little better, or maybe if we're generally struggling to retain the ball. He seems to be becoming even more tame in terms of attacking impetus. There's just so much slowing down, cutting inside and laying it off.

I really miss the look about him when he had more of an eye for goal. When he used to cut inside to get a shot off. It's like he barely ever shoots now.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

I really like Kukusevski but don't think he is nailed on RW anymore, in fact, I think RW is more upgradeable than LW now.

In his 20 PL starts this season, he has failed to register a goal or assist in 15 of them, meaning he has only registered a goal involvement in 25% in games started for us in the league and that stats gets worse when you include the cups.

For context, the next worse % for players that play in the front 3, is Johnson on 41%. Only Gil has a worse %, (0) but has only started 2 games.

The thing is I reckon he could play RW well in a different system, he just can’t play it in this one. It exposes all his weaknesses. Not his fault and tbh even if he wasn’t fast but was better 1v1 he could get away with it but he isn’t ether.

Ange is going to have to give thought going forward what is the best way to use him as he does have a lot of good skills, it’s just about finding a way to make the most of them.

 

[Hazelton]

Realistically, he's one of the players that could be upgraded. Can't question his workrate though and he has created a hell of a lot of chances. Also have to keep in mind the fact that because of our injuries, there has been a hell of a strain put on those who have been available more often than not. Still think he has a lot to offer as a squad option, I see him in the same category as Werner going forward

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Still think he’d be better centrally and deeper

Not really a winger

 

[Ghost Hardware]

I like him in games where maybe we're away from home and need to fight to hold onto the ball a little better, or maybe if we're generally struggling to retain the ball. He seems to be becoming even more tame in terms of attacking impetus. There's just so much slowing down, cutting inside and laying it off.

I really miss the look about him when he had more of an eye for goal. When he used to cut inside to get a shot off. It's like he barely ever shoots now.

I agree but I think a large reason for that is because he’s being asked to sit further wide as we don’t tend to play overlapping FB/WB. It naturally takes him further away from goal so when he does cut in it’s not one touch to get on the corner of the box it’s 3 or 4. Slows everything down and allows the defence to set up and block the shot/pass. Again if he was faster or better on the dribble he’d be able to cause more problems but as it is he just struggles more often then not because his position is naturally further away from goal this season compared to the past.

But like I said, you can tell he’s lacking confidence but I don’t know if that is enough to elevate him into a starter.

 

[Hazelton]

Long term, he's probably Maddison's cover at CAM. Need Johnson to step up or a new winger to come in first though.

 

[BorjeSpurs]

The thing is I reckon he could play RW well in a different system, he just can’t play it in this one. It exposes all his weaknesses.

I really like Kukusevski but don't think he is nailed on RW anymore, in fact, I think RW is more upgradeable than LW now.

In his 20 PL starts this season, he has failed to register a goal or assist in 15 of them, meaning he has only registered a goal involvement in 25% in games started for us in the league and that stats gets worse when you include the cups.

For context, the next worse % for players that play in the front 3, is Johnson on 41%. Only Gil has a worse %, (0) but has only started 2 games.

Come on guys he is up there with the best in the league in terms of chances created from open play. He is heavily underperforming his expected assists meaning the chances he has created hasn't been finished with regularity.

If we get a 1v1 dribbling winger on the left, Kulu can absolutely play RW in this system.

 

[mattstev2000]

Think he looks tired and needs a break. He's normally pretty slow but today it was like watching my nan run down the pitch and she's been dead for a decade.