View: James Maddison’s impressive Tottenham debut is just what the club have been crying out for
Tottenham have a new number 10 in town, and he certainly looked the part during his Premier League debut for the club against Brentford on Sunday 13 August.
Taking on the shirt number of a player who rose through the club’s academy to become their greatest-ever goalscorer is certainly no easy task, although James Maddison made it look that way during his Premier League debut for Tottenham.
Harry Kane has gone and a new era is set to get underway in North London, one which Maddison demonstrated could now be built around him in the absence of the England captain.
Since Christian Eriksen left the club, Spurs have lacked a real creative spark in the midfield area but have certainly addressed that issue with the £40million signing of the former Leicester City midfielder (Sky Sports News, 29 June). Gone are the days of Eriksen feeding Kane as Postecoglou now gets set to help build a relationship between Maddison and Richarlison.
And against Brentford, the 26-year-old was excellent, showing no signs of any debut pressure as he took the match by the scruff of the neck at the Gtech Community Stadium. It took just over 10 minutes for the attacking midfielder to get his first assist in Spurs colours, and what an assist it was.
In the 11th minute, he stood over a free-kick and got ready to whip a delivery into the box. Cristian Romero, who he spotted among the various shirts in the box, would be the eventual beneficiary.
The delivery was perfectly weighted and found the head of the Argentine, who had got himself back onside and could not miss, needing only to glance the ball on thanks to the fantastic speed of the delivery.
This was the first of two assists for the playmaker on his competitive Tottenham debut. The second, in fairness, was far less impressive although demonstrated his key role in a particular area of the pitch.
Maddison picked up the ball on the edge of the Brentford penalty area, exactly where Postecoglou likes his midfielders to be, and had three options to his right.
Despite being brought down, he was still able to get the ball to Emerson Royal who unleashed a wicked strike from distance into the bottom left-hand corner.
He should have had another assist when he played the ball forward toward Richarlison.
Once again he found a brilliant pocket of space between three Brentford midfielders and had his striker making a run into the box in front of him.
His pass was pinpoint, although the Brazil number nine could not convert the golden opportunity provided to him.
As demonstrated by the images, it was a fantastic debut performance, which is supported by the stats. In addition to his two assists, he made six key passes from the 56 he completed, a successful passing accuracy of 89 per cent, and had one shot on target, as well as making one clearance, one interception and one tackle (Sofascore).
What would have delighted his manager the most was his composure on the ball and awareness of his surroundings at all times, as he often evaded a challenge with a cute touch or two.
It seems a new star is set to shine bright at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although Maddison himself will most likely be frustrated that Kane is not still there to bury his chances and help him shine even brighter. Now it is time for Richarlison to follow in his teammate’s footsteps, rise to the occasion, and form a fresh deadly duo in North London.
In other Tottenham News, John Wenham believes the playmaker offers more than just his goals and assists.