Dejan Kulusevski is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Parma, on loan from Juventus, and the Sweden national team. Born in Sweden to Macedonian parents, Kulusevski chose to represent his native country internationally at senior level, and made his full debut in 2019. Coming through from the youth system, Kulusevski made his senior debut for Atalanta in 2019, before joining Parma on loan at the beginning of the 2019–20 season. With four goals and seven assists in 17 league games, Kulusevski joined Juventus during the winter transfer window for €35 million and was sent back to Parma on loan for the rest of the season. Kulusevski is a quick, physical, and technical player, capable of playing in various midfield and attacking positions. Mainly deployed as a right-winger, he can also play as an attacking midfielder, as an offensive–minded central midfielder or "half-winger", or as a centre-forward.
He joined Atalanta youth system on 7 July 2016 from Brommapojkarna. He made his Serie A debut on 20 January 2019, coming on as a substitute for Marten de Roon in a 5–0 away win against Frosinone. He made a total of three appearances for the club throughout the 2018–19 season, each as a substitute.
2019: First loan to Parma
On 18 July 2019, Kulusevski signed to Serie A club Parma on loan until 30 June 2020. He scored his first Serie A goal in a 3–2 home win against Torino, on 30 September. On 14 December 2019, Kulusevski scored his fourth league goal, against Napoli; he became the youngest player in the top five leagues in Europe to have scored more than three goals to date. He was also one of two players born after 1 January 1999, alongside Jadon Sancho, to have made at least seven assists in the top five European leagues.
Juventus
2020: Second loan to Parma
Following his form while on loan with Parma during the first part of the 2019–20 Serie A season, during which he scored four goals and provided seven assists in 17 league appearances, on 2 January 2020, Kulusevski joined fellow Serie A club Juventus on a four-and-a-half year deal, for €35 million, which could possibly rise to €44 million with variables. Kulusevski was sent back on loan to Parma for the remainder of the season.
A tall, physically strong, and versatile player, Kulusevski is capable of playing in several midfield and attacking roles, and has been deployed as an attacking midfielder, as a box-to-box midfielder, as a winger on either flank, or even as an offensive-minded central midfielder, known as the mezzala role in Italian ; his favoured position is playing as an attacking midfielder behind the striker. He has also been deployed as a makeshift centre-forward on occasion. His main qualities are his acceleration, speed, stamina, and his ability to switch the play or provide assists and through balls to teammates, courtesy of his vision and passing ability. He also possesses good technique, dribbling skills, and striking ability, which enables him to score goals, in addition to creating chances for teammates. Regarded as a promising and hard-working player in the media, his manager at Parma, Roberto D'Aversa, has compared Kulusevski to Mohamed Salah. He noted how the player "is always among the players who cover the most distance in every game", and "has the right mentality". Kulusevski himself named compatriot Zlatan Ibrahimović as an influence. Regarding his own playing style, he commented in a 2019 interview with Sportbladet: "I like to have the ball at my feet. I used to dribble a lot when I was a kid but I have got better at moving the ball more quickly. I have developed my defensive game, that was a weakness before, and that has made me a more complete player." He has also cited Belgian footballers Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard as players he admires and seeks to emulate.
