Spurs no longer just a Kane-Son double act – Dejan Kulusevski is the real deal

HARRY KANE (£7.5m) and Son Heung-min (£6.5m) make up one of the best partnerships in Premier League history.

The mere fact they have combined for more goals in the competition than any other duo is testament to that claim.

Cynics will say the pair can not be considered in the same category as Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp or Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole because they have not won the league title.

But when you consider an extension of the same logic also asserts that Anderson (four titles) was a better Premier League midfielder than Steven Gerrard (zero titles) then you can discard it completely.

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It’s remarkable how many fans still have their view of individual brilliance obscured by team achievements.

Tottenham have not been good enough to win a league title – that’s undeniable – but Kane and Son’s contributions in recent seasons have been immense.

That the pair have four Golden Boots between them in the last seven seasons indicates they have performed at the required level to lift trophies.

One of the main reasons they haven’t earned honours is the lack of sufficient support.

Last season, Kane and Son scored 40 league goals between while Spurs’ third top scorer was Dejan Kulusevski (£3.5m) with five goals – Steven Bergwijn was next with three.

The Sweden international’s contribution is notable because he only arrived in north London halfway through the season.

He also provided eight assists in his 18 league appearances to finish 2021/22 having averaged a goal involvement every 97.5 minutes in the top flight.

The burden of responsibility on Kane and Son’s shoulders to be the beginning, middle and end of all Spurs’ attacks was lifted and the trio thrived as a collective at the back end of the campaign.

Coupled with Antonio Conte’s impact, the club overtook local rivals Arsenal to claim Champions League qualification, a significant factor in persuading Daniel Levy to reinforce the squad over the summer.

As if to underline Kulusevski’s rapidly ascending status, the 22-year-old scored one goal and assisted another to help Spurs to a 4-1 win over Southampton on the opening weekend of the new term.

How often do Spurs score four goals in a game without Kane or Son making an appearance on the scoresheet?

That is was Kulusevski who inspired the victory reaffirmed the idea that it is now best to think of the attacking unit as a cohesive trio rather than a prolific double act plus another, as has been the case in previous years.

It’s almost sacrilege to say but there are hints of Kevin De Bruyne (£7m) about some of the Swede’s movement on the pitch, particularly the whipped nature of his crosses and shots from the corner of the box.

Priced at £3.5m at the start of the season, Kulusevski immediately looked like an appealing Dream Team asset and he made his case emphatically in Game Week 1 with a 15-point haul.

Expect his ownership of 13.7% to increase this month as gaffers use one of their five allotted transfers to recruit one of the best midfield options available.