Kulusevski best in Italy - one in the crowd in Vällingby

When the music starts and the ball rolls, fifteen, twenty guys chase it. In the big tent at Grimsta IP in Vällingby, it is crowded with friends, virtuosos and winning skulls.

On the defensive midfield, Mark Gorgo's pace dictates, just like in the youth team in Fiorentina. At the top is Joel Asoro, loaned from Swansea to Groningen, and here is Serge-Junior Martinsson Ngouali from Hammarby.

In the eye of the storm? There is Dejan Kulusevski, 19, with his left foot on a ball. A year ago, he was in a way one in the crowd when he came home to Stockholm's western suburbs and played ball with his friends. The difference now is what happened on the way here.

Autumn has been hysterical for the offensive creator, born in 2000 with roots in Northern Macedonia. His foot, physique and finesse have carried him all the way to the Swedish national team, and the jewel in the crown of success was awarded as December's best player in Serie A before Cristiano Ronaldo.

- There are many different factors that have led to this. I have found a team that fits me perfectly, a coach and teammates who believe in me. In a way, it doesn't feel like the worst thing. I trained a lot with Atalanta's a-team last year and felt that I kept to this level. Now I've come to a team where I've had playing time and taken the chance. But of course I'm very happy with how things have gone, he tells SVT Sport.

Kulusevski is loaned from Atalanta to Parma and after four goals and seven assists, the major clubs have been in the queue of interest. There is talk of Manchester City and Inter, about Juventus and Liverpool, but so far he sits calmly in the boat.

- When you think about the future, you forget the present. I'm thinking of getting better today than yesterday. What happens in the future I definitely do not know. I focus on getting better and at the end of the year I make a decision, says the 19-year-old.

He also reasons about his decision to choose Sweden and not Northern Macedonia at the national team level.

- If I had been able to play for both I would have done it, but unfortunately I can't. It was more natural to choose Sweden. I was born and raised here, and this is where I get on my leave to meet friends, says Kulusevski and develops:

- This is about meeting each other and doing what we love. These are amazing guys that I've grown up with, trained and fought with. We talk every day, ask how things are going on. We help each other as it can be very difficult and special to live alone. I am very grateful to have them.

Kulusevski looks out over the gang that calls himself "Big Fam". 19-year-old Gorgos, home from Florence over Christmas, is a box-to-box midfielder who belonged to AIK and BP before the overseas adventure started.

- I've learned to take responsibility, cook, be professional all the time - and then you come back to this football family, says Gorgos and gestures towards Kulusevski:

- I'm not surprised by Dejan's success. I have played with him since I was a kid and already then you knew that he has no limits, that he can reach the absolute highest level.

One who signs it is 20-year-old Asoro, who praises Sweden's hottest football player right now.

- I do not know what to say. We have been waiting for this for so long. We all here in Grimsta have talked that it will slap for Dejan. You see what's happening now. He is wreaking havoc. If he is new Zlatan? No, he's Dejan.

Asoro himself has switched British to Dutch football and is starting to adjust in the new environment. He has made a handful of U21 internationals, but the focus is on the club team right now.

- I didn't play anything in the beginning, but the longer the season suffered, the more I got more minutes. I have moved a lot despite my young age, but now I am in Holland and play a type of football that is good for young players, he says.

Then Asoro jogs back to the cluster, which with lightning combinations find each other in a possession exercise, where it's about keeping the ball within the team with as many passes as possible.

The music is still running when the gang winds down for the next hour. Gorgos has dictated the tempo, Asoro is on top and with his left foot as a weapon, Dejan Kulusevski has played with the friends he plays in Serie A - simple, elegant, effective and constantly ahead of the tank.

- All the work I've done now pays off. What is happening is big.