Jermaine Defoe namedrops lone Tottenham star who deserves credit this season

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the Bournemouth game, former Spurs star Jermaine Defoe discussed the North Londoners’ performances this campaign and singled out a player for some praise. He claimed that Dejan Kulusevski has been the only player good enough for Spurs in Ange Postecoglou’s side.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world. You have your ups and downs, but at the same time I feel like you can’t have one player out of the whole group who keeps up those levels of performances, and Kulusevski is the only one really who you can say that does that,” Defoe told Amazon Prime.

Dejan Kulusevski had a substandard 2023/24 season. The Sweden international struggled to turn in consistent displays, managing only 11 direct goal contributions in 39 games across all competitions for Tottenham. He mostly operated from the right flank and that role didn’t suit him.

However, things have been so much different this term, with Big Ange using the 24-year-old as one of the attacking No.8s. Kulusevski has singlehandedly dictated the tempo in certain games with his incisive passing, smart movement and clever reading of the game.

The Stockholm-born talent has already bagged two goals and seven assists in 21 appearances across all formats, and those direct goal contributions will certainly increase in the coming weeks and months.

The ex-Juventus man has received huge praise from Big Ange as well, and it has to be said that the attacker has been fantastic in his new-found central role this term. The Greek-Australian manager’s decision to move him centrally has not only given Kulusevski a new lease of life at N17 but also made the players around him better.

If players like Cristian Romero, James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma and a few others can step up and match Kulusevski’s consistency, Spurs can be a different outfit to play against in every game.