Spurs winger Dejan Kulusevski has soared to the top of the Tottenham performance charts in less than three months – and is now crucial to the club’s assault on the top four.
But the Swedish youngster has not only established himself as the number one at Spurs in a clutch of critical, attacking statistics since his mid-season move from Juventus - his game-changing displays are also celebrated in song.
‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!… Dejan Kulusevski’ has been joyfully reverberating around the Tottenham support during the last month, to the tune of Abba’s hit of a similar name, originally recorded by the world’s most famous Swedes in August 1979
The young man has welcomed the chant, despite a dubious reference to his 'ginger' hair. 'All my friends send it to me,' he told the Football Daily,
Few were thinking 'Gimme Kulusevski' in January, at least not until it emerged Liverpool had swooped for Spurs' first-choice winger, Porto's Luis Diaz, from right under Daniel Levy’s nose.
After all, the Swede never gave the impression of being a top player during two years at Juventus, but as second choices go, he is right up there with The Rolling Stones B-side – ‘You Can't Always Get What You Want’ – as an unexpected hit.
‘What a signing he has been, assists goals and intelligent runs, he makes the game look really easy and he’s only 21 years of age,’ enthused former Liverpool defender, Stephen Warnock, on Sky Sports, after Kulusevski contributed a goal and another assist in the 4-0 defeat of Aston Villa.
It is like the young man is the missing piece in a highly tuned Spurs forward line, alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min. It was decent, but now it is cranking out the chances and goals at an incredible rate.
How Dejan Kulusevski Ranks for Attacking Metrics
Since mid-February, no one has had more goal involvements than those three in the Premier League.
Kulusevski himself has six assists and three goals. He is leading the way in the per90 stats. He is ranked one at Spurs by the number crunchers for combined goals and assists, for chances created, for crosses into the penalty area, for carries with the ball that lead to chances, for passes that lead to shots and goals.
His all-action approach has given Tottenham more than the two obvious rivals for his spot, Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn, since joining on an initial £8m 18-month loan from Juventus.
And at 21, he is only one month older than Phil Foden.
Kulusevski’s ball-carrying and strength – as well as intelligent movement - creates space for the deadly duo alongside him – Kane and Son - and they do not need much encouragement to score.
In their last seven Premier League games, Spurs have smashed in 25 goals, with five for Kane, seven for Son and three for Kulusevski.
There is an efficiency to Spurs play at this point in the season, which will surely make them hard to overhaul by either Arsenal or West Ham in the hunt for a Champions League place.
At Villa last time out, Spurs relied on goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the first half, but undid the Villans with ruthless efficiency in a counter-attacking second period.
‘We showed a great resilience and [when] we tried to play the ball we got a chance to score,’ purred Conte.
‘There are six or seven games to go and we stay in the race. Not because we are lucky but we are showing we deserve to stay in the race for the Champions League.
‘I think we created a good chemistry between us,’ added the Italian.
Conte, is quick to spread the plaudits around the team and extend encouragement to Moura and Bergwijn, but the Swede’s performance at Villa Park encapsulated his contributions.
Kulusevski’s movement to the right of the Villa defence on 66 minutes initially pulled Tyrone Mings slightly out of position, creating the space for Son to burst through to score his second.
The Swedish international, who has 22 caps and one goal for his country, then caused havoc down the right, charging into the penalty box and sitting Mings down before finding a composed pass for Son to complete his hat-trick with 13 minutes left.
And for his own goal, five minutes after half time, Kulusevski popped up in the middle picking up a Kane flick before forcing his way into the box to finish from the left side of the goal.
‘He has fitted in so well,’ reflects Sue Smith, the former England international and Sky pundit. ‘Is it a bit of a gamble to bring him in?
‘He has showed it is not at all. It is the runs of Kulusevski and Son that are making that front three works so well.’
Smith praises Conte for the scouting that gave Spurs a credible Plan B, when Diaz headed to Merseyside, although the deal was done by Tottenham’s managing director Fabio Paratici, who reportedly called in a favour from the Turin outfit as Spurs’ options dwindled.
Kulusevski is certainly a player who Conte will appreciate and can clearly work with. As reported by Sportsmail, he loves the hard-grind, the relentless drills, has a healthy diet and is teetotal, he also likes to read and meditate.
Smith also highlights the role of Rodrigo Bentancur, who has turned out to be another masterstroke of recruitment during the January window, also joining from Juventus for £21.5m on the same day as Kulusevski.
He has slotted in beside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and has given greater control in the midfield, enjoying more touches than anyone else in a Spurs shirt, helping the team to launch their damaging counters.
It is the quick transition from back-to-front that makes the clever Kulusevski so devastating. It not surprising, therefore, that Tottenham are expected to trigger their option to sign him at the first opportunity this summer.
Spurs have two windows in which to buy the winger for £25m following the current loan deal.
And while not Spurs' first-choice, he is proving a huge hit. As The Stones put it in that 1969 B-side, you can't always get what you want, but sometimes, 'you'll find you get what you need'.
'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!... Dejan Kulusevski...'