Tottenham Hotspur star right winger and attacking midfielder Dejan Kulusevski is getting closer and closer to his return to the team, and there has been recent speculation that with the player training in full for weeks without setback, he could be ready to make the Spurs squad soon in October after this September international break wraps up.
Kulusevski has not been in action since the end of the 2024/25 season when he suffered what turned out to be a career-threatening knee injury. But Kulusevski is now running, kicking a ball, shooting, and doing everything he needs to be doing in order to be out there with his teammates on the practice field. Now, it is about slowly and carefully integrating him into games, and both Roberto De Zerbi and Graham Potter have been on the same page about taking things easy with the Swedish international.
Tottenham need some more juice in terms of playmaking and scoring. They have not won a single game out of five in the Premier League and are dead last in the table, having scored in just one of those five matches, which was a recent 3-2 loss to Aston Villa.
With Kulusevski on his way back, it's time to think about what the Tottenham starting 11 could look like with the player formally back in the lineup, which, hopefully, should not be before long.
Defense: GK Antonin Kinsky, LB Destiny Udogie, CB Micky van de Ven, CB Jan Paul van Hecke, RB Pedro Porro
There are injury questions here, of course. Destiny Udogie is so hard to predict because he is always in and out of the lineup with various soft tissue issues, while Jan Paul van Hecke just picked up something over international duty with the Netherlands. And we know Pedro Porro is going to be out until late October with an injury, though he should be able to make it back for the rivalry game against Chelsea. And since Kulusevski probably isn't going to be back for a few more weeks, he should get to play with these four defenders in front of Antonin Kinsky. At least, there should be little doubt that this is the best back line for Spurs when everyone is healthy.
Midfield: LCM Mateus Fernandes, DM Sandro Tonali, RCM Dejan Kulusevski
Tottenham Hotspur have struggled badly with creating high-percentage scoring opportunities for their forwards, and the return of James Maddison should be hugely beneficial to the Lilywhites. But Tottenham can think beyond having a No. 10, and while Kulu can play that position, it would be best for him to be in that floating Mezzala role on the right-hand side of the midfield.
That way, Tottenham can get the best of all worlds with Dejan Kulusevski. He can track back and bomb forward to win possession and progress the ball, and he can float and cut inside to shoot and create. Tottenham can have him playing a more advanced role with Mateus Fernandes tucking inside next to Sandro Tonali to create a double pivot, unbalancing the formation a bit and giving Spurs more tactical flexibility.
Kulusevski can be a creative solution for Tottenham with his passing and progression, and he has been a decent secondary scoring option, too. Fernandes will provide ball-winning and defensive presence on the left while still helping the attack, and then Sandro Tonali can screen the back line and playmake from deep, holding it all together. Fernandes and Tonali can interchange roles, too, giving Roberto De Zerbi further flexibility with a more traditional 4-3-3 midfield setup.
Attack: LW Savio, ST Omar Marmoush, RW Mohammed Kudus
Tottenham are honestly still trying to figure the attacking setup out, and while De Zerbi seems to want his wingers to only be inverted, Mathys Tel has been so poor this season that he needs to prove himself again before starting. Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke has been the team's worst player. So these three forwards are the three best Spurs have, and while De Zerbi may want to stick Savio on the right, he is such a great creative winger and still lacking goal threat on the right that playing him on the left may actually unleash his dribbling even more. Meanwhile, we all know Kudus can't play on the left. Kudus and Kulu should be a lethal combination together on the right, especially with Porro at fullback.
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