It has been some start to the season for Tottenham ace Dejan Kulusevski. Undoubtedly the club's standout performer from their opening ten games of the 2024/25 term, the 24-year-old is also excelling on the international stage for his native Sweden.
Kulusevski is leading by example for club and country at present, with the Stockholm-born player getting to wear the captain's armband for his country over the past two international breaks. Named as Jon Dahl Tomasson's skipper with regular captain Victor Lindelof unavailable in September, Kulusevski kept hold of the armband for October's international games as the Manchester United defender came off the bench against Slovakia and was then an unused substitute in the win over Estonia.
Kulusevski's influence on the pitch for Tottenham has been clear for all to see, something he puts down to a growing maturity and taking more responsibility. It's not only on the pitch where he is "taking more responsibility" as the birth of his daughter, Leonie, has had a huge impact on his life and also his football.
Speaking on The Review Show following Tottenham's 3-0 win at Manchester United, a game in which Kulusevski toyed with the Red Devils, the Swede revealed that his daughter is his "biggest motivation" and that everything has become "100 times better" with football becoming "even more fun". Tottenham and Sweden are both benefitting from a key period in the attacker's life and it may even result with Ange Postecoglou getting a new leader on the pitch in Kulusevski.
Following the Australian's appointment as head coach in the summer of 2023, Postecoglou appointed Son Heung-min as Tottenham's new captain, with Cristian Romero and James Maddison named as vice-captains. Guglielmo Vicario, who football.london reported in September was added to Tottenham's leadership group in the summer by Postecoglou, is also another key voice in the changing room for Spurs.
Kulusevski's growing maturity and leadership, both in terms of what he produces on the pitch and also helping his teammates, is only going to benefit Tottenham going forward. At a time when Postecoglou is looking to bring success to the football club, having another leader in the ranks is only a positive thing.
It perhaps comes as no surprise to see Kulusevski's leadership qualities develop to a point where he has taken on the Sweden armband in Lindelof's absence. After all, he has played under a number of impressive captains in the early stages of his career who quite clearly left a mark on him.
“To give energy and to read the room with words and actions. I’ve learned a lot from many good ones that I have played with," he said in September, as reported by Fotboll Skanalen. “I played with Bruno Alves at Parma, with [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Gigi] Buffon, [Giorgio] Chiellini at Juve and Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]. I’ve learned a lot from these players.”
He added: “I’m inspired by everything, by new things every day. I won’t copy anything, it’s 100% Dejan. I’ve always had it in me [to be a leader]. I love to gamble and am a very bad loser.
“I’m ready to sacrifice a lot to win. I will also think about making my teammates better, that is something that I have developed in recent years.”
Speaking in September, Sweden teammate Ludwig Augustinsson gave an insight into Kulusevski the captain following their UEFA Nations League fixtures.
“He has natural leadership qualities. He is a pusher," said the former Aston Villa loanee to TV4 (via Sport Witness). “He wants to move forward, he takes the initiative. He drives the team on the pitch and more and more in the dressing room.
“He is much more open and outgoing than before. He is growing more and more into a leader and he has a lot of experience at the highest level. It feels natural that it is he who takes the armband.”
Kulusevski has made an incredible start to the 2024/25 season and there is plenty more to come from him for both club and country. It does appear that his role is only going to get bigger for Tottenham and Sweden in the months ahead.
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