Spurs' Kulusevski in bizarre tribute to ex-Man Utd star
Cameron Smith
- 31 Jan 2022 21:47 GMT
- 3 min read
Tottenham Hotspur deadline day signing Dejan Kulusevski has joined the club from Juventus on an 18-month loan deal, and has a bizarre reason for wearing the number 44 shirt.
As things stand, the Sweden international's number at Tottenham isn't yet known, and young striker Dane Scarlett does currently wear the No.44, but that may change with the arrival of the Juventus man.
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Kulusevski, who can play anywhere along the forward line, joined Juventus from Atalanta in 2020, before embarking on a six-month loan move to Parma.
He has started just seven games this season, and Juventus were keen to offload him in order to fund their move for Dusan Vlahovic. Kulusevski was signed by the Old Lady during Fabio Paritici's time at the club, who is now Tottenham's transfer chief.
He will provide competition for Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn, as well as Heung-Min Son, at Tottenham, but unlike many young attackers, like Chelsea's Harvey Vale, who idolised Cristiano Ronaldo so much he wanted to change his name to 'Ronaldo', Kulusevski has an entirely different footballing hero.
Rather than Ronaldo, the Swedish forward is a huge fan of former Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj. The Belgian international Januzaj, who now plays for Real Sociedad, wore the No.44 shirt when he broke through at Man Utd, and that's why Kulusevski wears the same number.
He told Sky Italia in 2020: "One day I was in Sweden with my father to watch a Manchester United game. At one point a boy who was just 17 years old made his debut, but who came in with an incredible personality.
"It was Januzaj and he had the 44. I told Dad that one day I wanted to be like him, that I wanted to play without fear but only with the aim of having fun."
Januzaj scored four and assisted four in 27 Premier League games during his breakthrough year under David Moyes in 2013/14, but soon fell out of favour once the Scottish manager left Old Trafford.
