Tottenham Hotspur have been looking to compound their squad with some marquee editions in the ongoing summer transfer window, with the North Londoners being linked with a lot of players from around the English top tier and beyond. But as Daniel Levy looks to get a sense of the incomings, there is quite a dilemma that the Lilywhites are heading towards, which is surrounding James Maddison.
The England international signed at Tottenham from Leicester City in a deal around £40 million back in the summer of 2023, and at that point absolutely no one was questioning the logic behind Daniel Levy forking out such money for his signature. Given that he was someone who brought in a distinct style, and he came with that Premier League-proven ability. And Maddison arrived at Hotspur Way with a swagger, and for a while, the former Foxes maestro backed it up.
Now concluding the 2024/25 season, he put through an output of 9 goals and backed it up with 7 assists in the Premier League. He came out of the last campaign as the second-highest goal scorer at Tottenham, and he was also the
Fast forward to the end of 2024/25, and he is one of the chief creators at N17. And yet, his future donning the Lilywhites badge might not be set in stone.
Why Tottenham might be tempted to sell Maddison?
According to transfer expert Ben Jacobs, while Daniel Levy is not going around offering the services of Maddison, he is still open to offers, and honestly it doesn’t come as a surprise to us.
While Maddison has shown this elegance with his technical quality donning that creative role at N17, he has had a lot of problems with injuries, and then every now and then he goes into his patchy performances, which have ended up raising a lot of questions among the Lilywhites faithful about his long-term reliability.
Let us also factor in the summer signings and movements that Tottenham has been making.
The North Londoners have already secured the signature of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham earlier this summer, and they are also looking to bring in another creative talent this summer. And if that were to happen, it could be that Maddison could suddenly find himself redundant at Hotspur Way.
How can James Maddison fit in at Tottenham under Thomas Frank
With Thomas Frank taking charge of the proceedings at N17, he brings his own structured playing style, and James Maddison apparently fits in quite well into it. And given that the Dane head coach likes his midfielders to play between the lines whilst pressing high and having that ability to link transitions (at least from how we have seen him use the second-phase players at Gtech Community Stadium), Maddison ends up ticking all of those boxes. He is someone who thrives when he gets into half-spaces, while he moves well when it comes to playing in rotations with players around him (given this is where we saw the best of him at Leicester).
And even if we consider all the incoming players to N17, Maddison is still a massive tactical asset and not just a luxury player.
Yes, it is, given that you have to do the right management of minutes and fitness of the minutes that he plays, but given the ability he has (and if used correctly), we could well see him become an undisputed presence at Hotspur Way in the next expected iteration of Tottenham.
Strengths
Maddison is someone who has the ability to be a creative fulcrum in that middle zone, and then he gives you a proven output, given how he is always trying to make something happen.
And then he has the capacity to be a mentor to the likes of Lucas Bergvall and other creative outlets coming through the ranks at Tottenham.
Weaknesses
There is a lot of injury risk with Maddison, as Tottenham has found out the hard way in the past couple of seasons. And if Tottenham also signs another creative player, there would be a lot of rotation risk with him, especially if Frank continues to deploy Kulusevski down the middle.
Author’s Opinion
If Tottenham Hotspur ends up selling Maddison, it would be a bold move from Daniel Levy. But then bold doesn’t always mean smart, and I believe that unless the North Londoners are to receive a serious offer (I would take at least £60 million plus), and then even after the offer is on the table, if Thomas Frank and the chiefs at N17 have a clear plan to replicate (or bring someone else to replicate) his creative output, it would be a gamble strategy.
And now with the North Londoners welcoming back Champions League as well, I’d say it would be a bit foolish to sell one of your best creators without having an ensured replacement lined up.
