Tottenham Hotspur extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to five matches with a dramatic 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

A stoppage-time winner from Brennan Johnson, who tapped in at the back post from Heung-min Son's excellent cross, secured all three points for Spurs.

Ange Postecoglou has enjoyed an impressive first season with the club so far, with his side currently sitting fourth in the top-flight, and player development has been one of his big strengths.

A number of Tottenham stars have taken a leap forward this term under his management, including the likes of Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski, who have both improved upon their returns at the top end of the pitch in comparison to the 2022/23 campaign.

Whilst Kulusevski has caught the eye with better performances this season, Spurs may still be kicking themselves as they fumbled their own homegrown version of the Sweden international many years ago.

Tottenham decided to part ways with young winger Marcus Edwards in the summer of 2019 as the talented gem joined Portuguese side Vitoria for an undisclosed fee, although it is listed as a free transfer by Transfermarkt.

How Marcus Edwards is similar to Dejan Kulusevski

Like Postecoglou's current forward, the former Spurs academy prospect is a left-footed attacker who is predominantly deployed on the right flank.

He likes to dribble and cut inside onto his stronger foot from the right wing to cause constant problems for opposition defences as both a scorer and a creator of goals.

WhoScored lists key passes (chances created) as Edwards' biggest strength, which they also have as Kulusevski's biggest strength, based on their respective statistics over the last two seasons.

The stat-led website also describes the English winger's style of play by stating that he likes to dribble, likes to play short passes, and is a counter attack threat.

Meanwhile, WhoScored describes Kulusevski's style of play by stating that he likes to dribble, likes to play short passes, and commits fouls often.

This suggests that they both have a similar style in terms of what they like to do with the ball at their feet, to go along with both being left-footed right wingers.

Therefore, Tottenham already had a player with a similar profile to the Sweden international and decided to cash in on him before they ended up swooping for the Juventus attacker later on.

Kulusevski's Spurs career in numbers

Spurs initially signed the talented whiz on an 18-month loan deal from the Italian giants in January 2022, which was then made permanent for a reported fee of £25m in the summer of 2023.

Kulusevski caught the eye in his first six months on loan with the club as he hit the ground running in the Premier League with a string of impressive displays.

The left-footed maestro racked up five goals and eight assists in 18 appearances, which included 14 starts, in the top-flight during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign.

However, the Swedish ace did not kick on from that superb start to life in England as he only managed two goals and seven assists in 30 Premier League outings in the 2022/23 season.

Four fewer goals and assists combined in 12 more appearances in comparison to his first campaign with the club was a disappointing return for the attacker.

However, the 23-year-old has thrived under Postecoglou this season and appears to be back at his best at the top end of the pitch for Tottenham.

Kulusevski has produced five goals, two assists, and eight 'big chances' created in 22 appearances. He has provided his teammates with 4.86 xA worth of chances, which suggests that they have massively let him down in front of goal, given that the winger only has two assists to his name so far.

The Sweden international has been a threat to opposition defences as both a scorer and a creator, as shown by the statistics, above, but Sprus already had their own version of Kulusevski in their academy and fumbled him, which may make the £25m spent on the Juventus wizard look wasted with the benefit of hindsight.

Marcus Edwards' impressive progression

After Edwards made just one first-team appearance for Spurs, having emerged through the academy set-up, the tricky winger has gone on to forge an impressive career for himself in Portugal.

The 25-year-old magician produced 20 goals and 14 assists in 96 appearances for Vitoria and that convinced Sporting to snap him up in January 2022, which was the same window in which Tottenham signed Kulusevski on loan from Juventus.

Since his big move to Lisbon, the former England U20 international, who was hailed as a "joy to watch" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has consistently proven himself to be a big threat in the final third with his ability as a scorer and a creator of goals.

Last season, the 5 foot 6 dynamo scored seven goals and assisted five in 33 league matches for Sporting. However, he created a whopping 15 'big chances' for his teammates, which suggests that his fellow attackers let him down in front of goal.

To date, Edwards has fired in 21 goals and assisted 23 in 95 outings for Sporting in all competitions, which is a return of a goal or an assist every 2.16 matches on average.

Whereas, Kulusevski has racked up 12 goals and 18 assists in 82 games for Tottenham, during his time on loan and as a permanent player, which is a direct goal contribution every 2.73 clashes on average.

Appearances

22

17

Goals

Five

Four

Big chances created

Eight

11

xA

4.86

4.84

Assists

Two

Three

Key passes per game

2.1

2.6

As you can see in the table above, Edwards has provided a greater threat at the top end of the pitch in his respective league this season, with more goals, big chances created, xA, and assists per game on average.

These statistics suggest that the former Spurs whiz had the quality to offer more than Kulusevski on the right flank for the club had they persisted with him and helped the young gem to fulfill his potential in North London.

Of course, this is all with the benefit of hindsight and there is no telling how his progression would have gone had they loaned him out more and then tried to integrate him into the first-team.

However, it does appear to be one that slipped from their grasp and caused them to possibly waste £25m on Kulusevski, given that they could have had a similar player, both in style and quality, in Edwards.