View: Tottenham midfielder James Maddison continues to go from strength to strength
James Maddison was at the centre of everything good about Tottenham during the club’s 2-0 victory away at Bournemouth on Saturday 26 August.
A sum of £40million has never looked as much like a bargain as the signing of Maddison has done. When the midfielder arrived from Leicester, hopes and expectations were already high before he had even kicked a ball, yet he has still managed to exceed them.
He shone throughout his competitive debut for the club, grabbing two assists during the draw at Brentford, and in his first home appearance for Tottenham, when the lights were shining brightest, he once again played magnificently, helping his team to a 2-0 win over Manchester United.
The 26-year-old has quickly become the main man at Hotspur Way, thanks in part to his inheritance of the number ten shirt from club legend and record goalscorer Harry Kane, as well as his promotion to vice-captain.
And he certainly looked like the star away at Bournemouth, putting in arguably his best performance in the colours of Lillywhite so far. As well as slotting home his first goal for the club, he created plenty of chances and glided effortlessly across a slippery surface at the Vitality Stadium.
Starting with his goal, which put the visitors ahead inside the 17th minute, it was a moment of pure quality as he made a late run into the box and finished with the cutest of touches.
As Pape Matar Sarr picked up the ball on the edge of the box, Maddison was alert, immediately making a darting run in behind the Bournemouth backline, as shown in the image above.
His teammate spots the run and picks him out, with Maddison applying the slightest of touches to change the direction of the ball and send it into the bottom left-hand corner past Neto.
Earlier in the match he had made a similar run and was picked out once again, but couldn’t find the back of the net on that occasion.
As seen in the image above, Son Heung-Min has the ball on the edge of the box, and Maddison reacts to this by making a darting run toward the goal.
His captain is able to find him, and he takes it in his stride brilliantly, allowing himself the opportunity to shoot at goal, although, on this occasion, the Cherries shot-stopper was equal to it.
Throughout the 73 minutes he spent on the pitch, the attacking midfielder was an absolute joy to watch, and the stats back this up. He registered 1.08 expected goals as well as 0.44 expected assists, demonstrating how influential he was, and completed 29 of his 32 passes, a successful accuracy of 91 per cent, with one of those passes being key.
In addition to this, he created one big chance and was successful with 100 per cent of his dribbles. He also chipped in defensively, making one interception and winning seven of his 12 ground duels (Sofascore).
It was a classy performance from the midfield maestro and a real promise of what is to come as the season continues.
In other Tottenham news, the club’s Under-21s have also continued their fine start to the campaign.