Tottenham Hotspur’s Dejan Kulusevski has revealed that he has often had to operate at just 40% of his energy levels due to fatigue this season.

This crisis has affected every area of the pitch, from the goalkeeper to the attack, leaving Ange Postecoglou with limited options at times.

During this challenging period, only a few of the Tottenham first-team squad have managed to avoid injury setbacks. Amongst them is Dejan Kulusevski, who has arguably been Tottenham Hotspur’s standout performer this season.

Dejan Kulusevski opens up on the demands of playing every game for Tottenham

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, the Swedish winger shed light on the physical toll of playing every match and revealed that he has often had to operate at just 40% of his energy levels due to fatigue.

He said: “It’s difficult, of course, because first of all, it’s too many games. You go out and play some games where you feel 40/50%, and that’s not how it’s supposed to be.

“But then also, like you said, if you have injuries and you don’t have enough players, then it really gets difficult. So, of course, it’s annoying because, in the end, you just want to play football on normal terms, you know?

But you can’t do that, so you just try to do your best, and you try to use your brain more.

“Like I said before, when I notice that I can’t run up the field like I want every game, then I need to stop and start thinking more. Maybe I can save my energy here. Maybe I can try to keep the ball much more in this situation. So, you start to use your brain to keep energy.”

Kulusevski’s consistency despite fatigue

Despite featuring in every one of Tottenham Hotspur’s matches this season, Kulusevski has maintained a high level of performance, although signs of fatigue have been evident in recent weeks.

Even so, no player has made more appearances for Spurs this season than the Swede. His consistency has been rewarded, as he has now joined Heung-min Son in reaching double figures for goal contributions.

Kulusevski’s goal in Tottenham’s 4-1 win against Ipswich Town took his tally for the season to 20 goal contributions, with ten goals and ten assists to his name, further underlining his importance to Postecoglou’s side.