Dejan Kulusevski has revealed his delight at joining Tottenham in the January transfer window, opening up on the struggles he faced at Juventus.
The 21-year-old joined Spurs on an initial 18-month loan deal which can be made permanent if certain conditions are met, and he has hit the ground running with a return of two goals and four assists in his first 11 games.
Kulusevski has already eclipsed the tally he managed with Juventus in the first half of the season, and speaking after joining up with the Sweden camp, he explained what went wrong for him in Turin.
"There were many, many things that did not work at Juventus," he began. "I got no rhythm, played one match per month and was always in a new position when I did play.
"My body did not feel good. I did not feel physically strong and did not find a good training schedule that suited me. It just felt wrong, even though everything around me was good.
"I trained very hard during the summer and thought that I would reach the next level this season, but it was almost the opposite. Suddenly, you change teams and then you see - 'ah, I can still play football and I can still be myself'. Of course you enjoy it.
“At Tottenham, there’s a breath of fresh air, I have a better rapport with the coach, I was trained better and my physique has improved.”
Kulusevski also acknowledged that he struggled to deal with the pressure that comes with being a Juventus player.
"It is very special when you play for Juventus, which is one of the world's biggest clubs," he said. "But people do not understand what pressure is.
"You have to win all the time and when you win, you're not even happy, you're just relieved. There was always a thought that if we don't win, things could happen. I'd be scared to go out on the town.
"I try to develop every day. I test myself. But it is clear that when I changed teams and came to Tottenham, it became much easier. I became much happier and when you are much happier, things are much better."
This article was originally published on 90min as Dejan Kulusevski describes Tottenham transfer as 'breath of fresh air'.
Source: www.90min.com