James Maddison unlikely to leave Tottenham in the winter transfer window

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison’s role has dramatically reduced over the past few weeks with Ange Postecoglou leaving him on the bench in successive Premier League games. The Englishman has played just 14 minutes over the last two games in the league and there have emerged concerns regarding his suitability to the manager’s tactical setup.

It is fair to say that Maddison’s misery has compounded over recent weeks as he was first left out of the Three Lions’ squad and is now struggling for minutes at Tottenham as well. With that being said, there are understandably doubts regarding his future although Give Me Sport has reported that his exit in the winter at least is a prospect that can be rated as ‘very unlikely’.

It is for the very first time since checking into Tottenham Hotspur from Leicester City that scrutiny has been raised over James Maddison’s performances, particularly his work-rate. At the same time, his numbers of three goals and four assists provide for good reading and might go on to suggest that Postecoglou’s decision to exclude him from the team was a temporary tactical tweak.

As such, Spurs have struggled without the 27-year-old in midfield, most recently falling to defeat against Ipswich Town in the Premier League. He was brought on for a handful of minutes in the second half but admittedly failed to influence the game much given that the Tractor Boys were defending very deep and half of the Spurs side was also out of energy.

It will be interesting to see whether Postecoglou sees him fit to start against Manchester City in the team’s first game after the international break. The Australian has had Maddison available at his disposal for the international break, so it might not be ruled out that he partners with Dejan Kulusevski in the advanced midfield positions while Pape Mata Sarr starts as the number six.

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• Tottenham now in position to hijack Chelsea deal for Serie A ace

For now, there do not seem to be many alarm bells ringing regarding Maddison’s situation although it will be interesting to see if any decisive changes occur in his role in the squad between now and the end of the season.