Following what felt like a long international break for Spurs fans off the back of a catastrophic collapse against Brighton, Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham have made a bright return to domestic football.
James Maddison vs West Ham
Hosting the curtain raiser for last weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures, despite going 1-0 down, Spurs cruised to a 4-1 victory over West Ham courtesy of three goals in quick succession early in the second half.
Undoubtedly, Swede Dejan Kulusevski stole the headlines for Spurs fans, with the forward-come-midfielder’s equaliser being the catalyst for what turned out to be an emphatic turnaround.
However, whilst Kulusevski’s fine form of late has been welcomed by the North London faithful, one man who perhaps did not enjoy Saturday as much as the rest of his teammates is fellow midfielder James Maddison.
Despite a respectable performance that even saw Maddison pick up an assist, Postecoglou still opted to hook the Englishman at halftime in favour of Sarr, which in turn proved to be a stroke of genius.
Sarr’s running power and energy quickly changed the game for Spurs, with the Senegalese even picking up an excellent assist winning the ball deep into his own half before quickly playing captain Heung-Min Son through on goal.
MORE SPURS STORIES
Alongside Kulusevski and Bissouma, Sarr helped Spurs ease to victory in the second half, providing a solid defence to West Ham’s quick counterattacks that had been successful earlier in the game winning two tackles and four of his six duals (Sofascore).
And with that in mind, with a trip to London rivals Crystal Palace to come for Tottenham next in the league, where exactly does this leave Maddison?
What next for James Maddison at Tottenham?
Thinking back to last season, the signing of Maddison looked to be a statement of intent from the Postecoglou, seemingly beating Newcastle to Leicester’s star man at a cut-rate price of £40m.
Maddison even cited the Australian’s self-belief in his philosophy as a key reason for his move to N17, being eager to be part of the “new look Tottenham” that was promised with Angeball (Tottenham Hotspur).
Without doubt, the Englishman quickly proved his worth to Spurs, ending last season with a respectable four goals and nine assists in the league, however, it was a tale of two halves for the midfielder.
As fans will remember, Maddison’s injury at Stamford Bridge in Spurs’ 4-1 loss to Chelsea saw him sidelined for the following 10 games, and in truth, he never rediscovered the early season form that saw him become a fan-favourite in North London.
Of his 13 goal contributions, eight came in his first 10 games of the season, with Maddison even failing to score in the final 10 games of last season (Transfermarkt).
However, anyone who watches Maddison will know he contributes more than just goals and assists, ranking among the top 5% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for shot-creating actions, progressive passes played and received, and touches in the opposition penalty area, highlighting just how pivotal he has been to Spurs since his arrival (FB Ref).
And again this season, Maddison has started the campaign excellently, with two goals and three assists already in the league despite him yet to complete a full Premier League game.
Looking at Spurs’ midfield, with the aforementioned form of Kulusevski and the need for one of Bissouma or Bentancur as a holding midfielder, Maddison looks to be competing with Sarr for a starting place in the side.
At his best, there’s no doubting Maddison’s ability to change and win games, with him doing so both in a Spurs shirt and at Leicester beforehand, so getting the best out of him will be paramount for Postecoglou and Spurs’ season.
That being said, regardless of his place in Postecoglou’s pecking order, Maddison is bound to get minutes in the team, with Spurs certainly being hopeful of runs in both the FA Cup and Europa League, which could mean a near 60-game season.
Despite Saturday’s setback, Spurs fans will be hopeful that Maddison’s early season form doesn’t peter out like last season, as the Englishman could be a pivotal cog in Postecoglou’s self-proclaimed “second season success”.