What Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski ‘absolutely’ has in common with Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane

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Tottenham Hotspur are having their fair share of ups and downs this season but it’s clear what Ange Postecoglou has in mind for the club.

The Tottenham boss is intent on turning his side into a force to be reckoned with, playing exciting attacking football and also giving youth a chance.

Postecoglou has already pulled off a masterstroke in turning Dejan Kulusevski into one of the Premier League’s most dangerous midfielders.

Kulusevski’s Spurs career prior to this season was fairly modest as he played on the wing, but since being put in midfield, he has become one of the team’s main stars.

Postecoglou held his pre-Fulham press conference on Friday and he spoke at length about everything Kulusevski brings to the table and what the future holds for him as a player.

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Ange Postecoglou hails Dejan Kulusevski’s ‘elite’ recovery rates and mental strength

Postecoglou was asked about Kulusevski’s stamina, and the Spurs manager spoke about the player’s “elite” recovery rates.

“It’s not a fluke,” began Postecoglou, as per football.london. “It’s a lot of hard work.

“There’s some science there, some genetics or DNA. He just has a real capacity to be able to run at a certain level consistently. His recovery rates are really elite in that he can go and rest quickly and go again.

“But there’s also that mental strength to do it. A lot of players have the capacity but maybe reach the limit where they naturally get tired and don’t go again until they need to. But Deki will keep going and going. It’s a big part of his football, it’s a big strength of his.

“If you think about it. If you’re trying to stop him and in he’s in your vicinity, you think he’ll go once, twice, or three or four times and that can wear oppositions down. He has the quality as well.”

Postecoglou says ‘there’s a lot of improvement’ in Kulusevski amid ‘laser focus’

Postecoglou was then asked whether Kulusevski has a drive for self-improvement akin to Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane.

“Yeah, absolutely,” said Postecoglou. “Spot on. He’s very ambitious about how good he can be and that’s a great thing. He’s still relatively young and for his position, there’s a lot of improvement in him.

“I’ve just got a feeling with Deki that he’s not going to settle for any level apart from being the absolute best and it’s great for us.”

Postecoglou also admitted he was buzzing to get the chance to manage Kulusevski.

“I was extremely excited,” said the Tottenham boss. “I had seen, as you said, his trajectory as a player. He had made an impact already.

“I think the club had only signed him on loan with an option to buy when I got here and I was pretty keen to make sure that happened.

“You don’t really know until you work with a player and understand him better.

“As Dan was just saying, he has this real laser focus about how good he can be and, for any manager, that’s what you want to see in players. Somebody who is not going to settle for whatever level he is at.”

Kulusevski is predicted to make Tottenham’s starting XI for when Spurs face Fulham on Sunday afternoon.