Dejan Kulusevski (Macedonian: Дејан Кулушевски, romanized: Dejan Kuluševski; born 25 April 2000) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or winger for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Sweden national team.
Kulusevski was born in Stockholm and joined the youth activities of IF Brommapojkarna at the age of six.
Kulusevski joined the Atalanta youth system on 7 July 2016 from Brommapojkarna, before making any senior appearance for the club. Kulusevski made his Serie A debut on 20 January 2019, coming on as a substitute for Marten de Roon in a 5–0 away win against Frosinone. Kulusevski made a total of three appearances for the club throughout the 2018–19 season, each as a substitute.
On 18 July 2019, Kulusevski signed to Serie A club Parma on loan until 30 June 2020. Kulusevski scored his first Serie A goal in a 3–2 home win against Torino, on 30 September.
Kulusevski scored on his Juventus debut on 20 September 2020 in a 3–0 league win at home against Sampdoria. On 19 May 2021, Kulusevski scored the opening goal and later set-up Federico Chiesa’s match-winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Atalanta in the 2021 Coppa Italia Final.
In the next season, Kulusevski scored the winning goal in the Champions League match against Zenit Saint Petersburg with a header in the 86th minute on 20 October. Kulusevski’s playing time was reduced under Massimiliano Allegri, making 20 appearances and scoring two goals.
On 31 January 2022, Kulusevski was sent on an 18-month loan to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur; the loan deal was worth €10 million, and included an option for purchase, which would become an obligation under certain conditions for an additional fee of €35 million.
Kulusevski made his first appearance for Spurs on 5 February in the FA Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion, coming on a substitute in a 3–1 win. On 19 February, Kulusevski scored his first goal for Tottenham in the fourth minute of the match which Tottenham eventually won 3–2 against Manchester City. In Kulusevski first season, Kulusevski managed 13 goal involvements (five goals and eight assists) in 18 Premier League matches
On 17 June 2023, it was announced that Kulusevski had signed permanently with Tottenham Hotspur until 2028. On 16 September, Kulusevski’s 100th-minute winner gave Tottenham a 2–1 turnaround win over Sheffield United, sealing the latest ever winning comeback in Premier League history
Kulusevski made his senior international debut for Sweden on 18 November 2019, coming on as a substitute for Ken Sema in a 3–0 win against the Faroe Islands in the last game of the Euro 2020 qualifying stage.
On 8 September 2020, Kulusevski made his first start for Sweden, playing for 90 minutes before being substituted for Albin Ekdal in a 0–2 loss to Portugal in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. On 14 November 2020, Kulusevski scored his first international goal against Croatia in a 2–1 home win in the Nations League.[37]
On 8 June 2021, Kulusevski tested positive for COVID-19 amid its pandemic in Sweden, and was ruled out of Sweden’s opening UEFA Euro 2020 match against Spain on 14 June.
Kulusevski is tall, physically strong, and versatile player, Kulusevski is capable of playing in several midfield and attacking roles, and has been deployed as an attacking midfielder, as a box-to-box midfielder, as a winger on either flank, or even as an offensive-minded central midfielder.
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