James Maddison is the perfect fit for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham

Tottenham‘s summer rebuild under new manager Ange Postecoglou is starting to take shape with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario arriving from Empoli on Tuesday in a £17million deal. 

While fans were pleased to see more depth in a problem goalkeeping area, the £45million capture of James Maddison, confirmed on Wednesday, was one for fans to really get excited about. 

Maddison agreed personal terms of £170,000-a-week and posed with his new shirt on Wednesday at the club’s Enfield base after signing a five-year deal.

Having deleted some old tweets where he claimed he ‘dislikes Tottenham’ and branded Gareth Bale a ‘monkey’, Maddison has now sealed a move to the north London club, and his addition to the squad is desperately needed.

Spurs had a bitterly disappointing 2022-23 campaign, which saw them play under three different managers, fail to end their 15-year wait for silverware, and eventually finish eighth in the Premier League, missing out on European football altogether.

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of James Maddison in a deal worth £45million

The Leicester City playmaker becomes Ange Postecoglou’s third signing of the summer

Ange Postecoglou is looking to make his mark at Spurs after being appointed their new boss

Having moved from one manager to another with no clear plan in place, Tottenham are a club lacking identity, and Postecoglou needs to change that quickly.

During his trophy-laden two-year spell at Celtic, the Australian preferred an attacking 4-3-3 system with a holding midfielder and two No 8s.

Postecoglou is likely to use Yves Bissouma at the base of his midfield, and must start to get a tune out of the former Brighton man after his difficult first season in the capital.

Rodrigo Bentancur, who was arguably Tottenham’s best player last term aside from Harry Kane, should slot back in as one of the more advanced midfielders once he returns from his serious knee injury towards the end of the year. And then you have Maddison.

The 26-year-old was a shining light in a Leicester side that suffered a dramatic fall from grace last year as they were relegated from the Premier League just seven years after winning the title.  

Can he make the step up to play for a ‘Big Six’ club? There is no reason why not.

When comparing Maddison to the best attacking midfielders in the league in 2022-23, his numbers stack up well.

He netted 10 top-flight goals, more than Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (7) and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (8).

He also registered nine Premier League assists, outdoing Fernandes (8) once more and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard (7).

His key passes per game (2.30) also put him ahead of Odegaard (2.08), according to Sofascore.

In a struggling Leicester City side last season, Maddison’s numbers actually stack up well 

James Maddison outscored Kevin De Bruyne (left) and Bruno Fernandes (right) last season

Maddison also registered more assists than Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard in 2022-23

Maddison proved he could compete with the best players the Premier League has to offer, while playing in a team that won just nine games all season and conceded a staggering 68 goals.

He was feeding off scraps at times, but that is unlikely to be the case under Postecoglou, who sends his side out to attack from the outset.

Celtic scored a remarkable 114 goals to retain their title in 2022-23 – that’s three goals per game.

Postecoglou encourages his team to play on the front foot and put games to bed, and that will only play to Maddison’s strengths.

The football at Tottenham was dire last season, with Spurs sitting deep for long periods and then looking to counter, with Kane heavily relied upon to create chances and then put them away himself.

It highlighted the worrying lack of creativity in the side, which has been a problem for some time despite Spurs signing the likes of Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil in recent years to try and fix the issue.

Both men were sent out on loan last term after struggling to find their best form, but Maddison is an experienced Premier League player now and is unlikely to require much of an adaptation period. 

Maddison will ease the burden on Harry Kane if the Tottenham striker stays at the club

There is also the mouthwatering prospect of Maddison playing alongside Kane if Tottenham can convince their talismanic striker to stay.

Bayern Munich have submitted a £60m offer for Kane, and personal terms have reportedly been agreed between the two parties. But Spurs are very reluctant to sell, and may hold off on letting him go in the hope that he will sign a new deal as he enters the final year of his current contract.

Maddison and Kane have played together twice for England in recent months, and there have already been signs of a blossoming partnership between the duo.

Pep Guardiola famously referred to Tottenham as the ‘Harry Kane team’ in 2019. There was an element of truth to his words last season, with the forward carrying his side for the majority of the campaign.

That cannot continue if Spurs want to progress and challenge for trophies, so it is vital that Maddison eases this burden on Kane.

He has shown that he is not afraid to take responsibility on the pitch, producing big moments when he was most needed alongside Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes at Leicester.

Maddison is set to cost less than half the price of his international team-mate Declan Rice

He would be expected to do the same with Kane and Son Heung-min at Spurs, and bringing him into the side makes Tottenham look a far more well-rounded outfit.

Spurs are getting a player who ought to be coming into his peak, and at £45m, they look to be getting a bargain.

Fellow England internationals are also set for moves this summer, but West Ham are demanding more than £105m for Declan Rice, while Chelsea recently turned down a £55m offer from Manchester United for Mason Mount.

Landing Maddison for £45m represents good recruitment from Tottenham, something they have not always got right, and is a statement of intent from the club that they are ready to turn their fortunes around after a torrid 12 months.