Tottenham are heading towards the summer transfer window on the back of their worst Premier League season in recent memory and Dejan Kulusevski has gone public with his frustration
Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski has furiously criticised the club's transfer policy and believes that he and his team-mates have been hung out to dry. Spurs slipped to their 18th defeat of the Premier League season on Monday, losing 2-1 at home to high-flying Nottingham Forest.
The result means that Tottenham are rooted to 16th place with just five games to go and only have the Europa League to salvage their season. Spurs beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 last Thursday to book a semi-final tie with Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt, the competition's surprise package.
Injuries have plagued Ange Postecoglou's side, particularly during the winter. Kulusevski, 24, feels that Tottenham have been left ill-equipped to compete both domestically and in Europe, pointing the finger and the club's hierarchy.
The Swedish winger fumed after Monday's loss: "[The top clubs have] been doing it many years. They know exactly what they're doing. They're bringing in a lot of players that are ready to play both competitions. And they are prepared for it.
"This year we cannot say that we're prepared for it because we had so many injuries and we did a lot of things wrong from the beginning of the season and we're paying for it right now. After big nights like Thursday, you always go down. That's why teams who are in more competitions are paying [a price].
"We're not handling it right, we're not handling it well. Because after 16 minutes we'd conceded three goals, with the offside goal. Then it's hard to win football games. It's not good enough. Then we played some good football but if you're not doing everything right, you will not win games."
Kulusevski hadn't started a match since February and his return has been a welcome boost for Postecoglou, who faces an uncertain future - even if Spurs triumph in a potential Europa League final against either Manchester United or Athletic Bilbao. As a result, Tottenham have been forced to put their transfer plans on hold, a situation which will anger Kulusevski further.
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Defender Cristian Romero already has his eyes on the exit door after being linked with Atletico Madrid. Romero told TyC Sports: "LaLiga is the one [league] left to play in. I would love to, to tell you the truth. I would love to play there because it's the league I'm missing."
Spurs are back in action on Sunday when they travel to face champions elect Liverpool. Then comes the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, with the second leg in Norway coming after a trip to West Ham.
Tottenham's worst-ever points tally from a 38-game Premier League season is 44 and they're currently seven points away. Their worst finish is 14th place (1998 and 2004).