Roberto De Zerbi says he wants to select Dejan Kulusevski in his Premier League squad for this season, despite the Swede not having played for Tottenham in over a year.
Premier League clubs must confirm their 25-man squad lists for the upcoming campaign shortly after the transfer window closes on Tuesday, September 1. They cannot resubmit their list until after the January transfer window closes, leaving De Zerbi with a decision to make about Kulusevski’s fitness.
Slow progress after long layoff
The Swedish playmaker is making slow but steady progress after more than a year out with a complicated kneecap injury and has begun taking part in some individual training. Kulusevski is still not training with the team, though, and he remains some way from a return to match action.
With the deadline looming for Spurs to name their squad list for the new season, Kulusevski is in a race against time to prove his fitness. De Zerbi, though, says he would like nothing more than to name the 26-year-old in his squad.
De Zerbi backs Kulusevski
“I hope, and I will be very, very happy to see Kulusevski inside (the squad list), and I want to put Kulusevski inside of the list because he is working very well, very hard,” De Zerbi said in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
“If he feels good like now, he’s improving day by day. It’s great watching him during the season and also because he deserves it because he suffered too much for his career for his age, for his level of human. I’m not speaking of him as a player but as a human. He deserves to stay inside of the list.”
Long-term absentees ruled out
Two players De Zerbi will opt against selecting in his final squad list are long-term absentees Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons, who are both working their way back from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
Odobert has been out since March, while Simons is around a month further behind in his rehabilitation after becoming the third Spurs player in under a year to suffer an ACL injury, after Odobert and James Maddison.
De Zerbi provided updates on the pair and said he did not expect Odobert back before February at the earliest, while Simons is expected to miss the majority of the season, with the Dutchman potentially out until April. “Odobert is injured for a long time. Before February, March, he is not available. Xavi Simons … before March, April, he’s not ready.”
