€46m move
Postecoglou's new No.10 - Why Maddison may end up being an incredible signing for Tottenham
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New Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has made his first major attacking signing of the summer window. On Wednesday, Tottenham confirmed the signing of Leicester City midfielder James Maddison. Although the North London club have already spent the best part of €100 million on goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario (€20m signing from Empoli) as well as finalising permanent deals for Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski, Maddison is undoubtedly the transfer that will get fans excited.
According to Sky Sports, Tottenham have paid €46.3m for Maddison, which will make the attacking midfielder Leicester’s fifth most expensive sale in the club’s history and Tottenham’s fourth most expensive signing ever. So why are Postecoglou and his new club so keen on signing Maddison?
How good is James Maddison?
Having pursued Maddison for a number of years, Tottenham clearly felt that now was the right time to finally sign the player following Leicester’s relegation from the Premier League. And there’s little doubt that they could end up getting the player for a relative bargain if his €40m transfer fee is indeed true. Because not only is Maddison an excellent player, but he’s also exactly what Postecoglou’s Tottenham squad desperately need to get back to the top four next season.
With 10 goals and nine assists in 30 league games last season, Maddison was not only one of the best players in the Premier League for goal contributions but also outplayed most attacking midfielders across the English top-flight. For example, according to Opta the 26-year-old talent was second only to Kevin de Bruyne and Martin Ødegaard for assists, fourth among attacking midfielders for key passes and seventh for through balls. An impressive feat when you consider he spent the entire season in an extremely dysfunctional team.
However, Maddison isn’t just a player that can pull the strings. As his 10 goals for the season suggests, the midfielder is also a clear goal threat. And that was evident through the manner in which he was second only to Eberechi Eze for attempts on goal from set pieces, fifth among central midfielders for goals inside the box, third for goals outside the box as well as finishing fourth for shots on target.
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Gavi | Barcelona | Spain | Market value: €90M
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João Neves | Benfica | Portugal | Market value: €10M
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In other words, Maddison is a fantastic Premier League No.10. And that should go some way to solving Tottenham’s problems next season. Although Spurs can call upon great goal creators in their wide positions, such as Ivan Perisic, Heung-min Son and Kulusevski, the midfielder with the most assists in the 22/23 campaign was Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg, who managed just five in 35 games and averaged less than half of Maddison’s assists per 90. As such, the England international should plug a major whole in Tottenham's new-look team for next season.