Dejan Kulusevski picks his top five Premier League wingers of all-time | OneFootball

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Tottenham Hotspur's Dejan Kulusevski has named his top five Premier League wingers of all time, and his choices will likely cause a stir online. The Swede left some huge names off his list, and his final order was certainly interesting too.

In truth, though, the 23-year-old was spoiled for choice when putting his list together, with English football's top-flight being home to some of the best widemen of all-time over the years. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Eden Hazard, and Ryan Giggs are just a few of the huge names in recent memory who spring to mind.

Kulusevski himself, while not in that bracket just yet, has had an impressive couple of seasons since initially joining Spurs on loan back in January 2022. To date, he has 10 goals and 16 assists in 70 appearances for the north London club, more than he managed during his time in Italy with Juventus.

Kulusevski leaves Giggs, Sadio Mane and David Beckham off his list

However, when considering who the five best Premier League wingers of all-time were, Kulusevski chose to ignore some of the greatest players in the league's history in an interview with TNT Sports. There was no room for Liverpool's Sadio Mane, often seen as one of the league's finest wingers in recent years, and both David Beckham and Ryan Giggs were omitted from the list too.

Beckham became an icon at Manchester United, with his outrageous passes and ridiculous assists leaving many wide-eyed. Having also dazzled in continental competitions like the 1999 Champions League final, it was surprising not to see his name come up.

The same can be said for Giggs, who remains the Premier League's record assist holder and the player with the second-most appearances. However, Kulusevski explained his exclusion from his top five, arguing that he had not seen enough of the United legend.

"It's hard for me to say Giggs because I didn't see him, I haven't seen almost anything about him."

5. Gareth Bale

So, if those stars didn't make it into the Spurs man's top five, who did? Well, at number five, he went for a Tottenham legend, picking Gareth Bale as the fifth-best to do it in the league, and not many would argue against him being in the top five. His shot power, goals and pace make him stand out in Kulusevski's eyes, with the Welsh icon scoring 54 Premier League goals, some of which were absolutely outrageous. He might have only won a League Cup during his time at Spurs, but plenty of silverware followed during his time at Madrid.

4. Willian

His number four pick, however, really was a shock, with the winger putting Fulham wideman Willian ahead of the flying Welshman. Describing him as "unbelievable" and "underrated", even some Chelsea fans who got to watch him at his best would disagree with his placement here, despite the Brazilian scoring 63 goals for them over the course of seven years. He did manage to win tons of trophies during his time at Stamford Bridge, however, so while some might question his status as a top five winger of all-time, he's certainly one of the better wingers in recent times.

3. Mohamed Salah

At three, Kulusevski chose Liverpool's Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah. Striking up a mean partnership with the aforementioned Mane and Roberto Firmino at Anfield, there will certainly be many who believe that he deserves to be a spot or two higher, especially because of his goalscoring exploits since signing for the Reds in 2017. That's exactly why he gets a bronze medal in Kulusevski's eyes, but clearly, a minimum of 19 league goals every season will only get you so far.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

While he might be number one in the eyes of many people, Cristiano Ronaldo is only the second-best winger in the league's history, according to the Tottenham attacker. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is dubbed "one of the greatest football players of all time" by his former Juventus teammate, and not many would debate that given his trophy haul. Still the last Premier League player to be named the best player in the world, it's a shock not to see the man who scored 103 Premier League goals at the top of the list.

1. Eden Hazard

That honour goes to Chelsea and Belgium legend, Eden Hazard. The winger's incredible dribbling and impact on the pitch made him Kulusevski's "favourite player" since he was a kid, even revealing that he models parts of his game on the now-retired winger. He described how Hazard simply made him happy by watching him play, and given some of the goals he scored in his 110 haul for Chelsea, you can understand why.

Video: Kulusevski picks his top five Premier League wingers