Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Brian Statham has commented on the possibility of James Maddison joining Spurs this summer.
Statham, who has a son in the Spurs academy, recently spoke to Love Sport Radio regarding the potential departure of Christian Eriksen. In the interview, Statham also suggested James Maddison would be the ideal replacement for the Danish playmaker.
He said: “Trying to replace any player of that quality [Eriksen] is extremely difficult.
“If you are taking someone from overseas, there’s the period of settling in and integration, understanding the pace and physicality of the Premier League. So do they then look at the UK-based players whether they are foreign or English?
“James Maddison seems to have got an awful lot of attention at the moment and from what I have seen I have been pleasantly surprised at what a good player he is – so it is no surprise that there is interest in James Maddison.
“£60 million would be quite cheap by the sounds of things with the market and prices the way they are going. So maybe that could be a like-for-like price. One goes out for £100 million and one comes in at £100m. You are buying an English player who is 22 which is a really good age who has had one full year in the Premier League but has done extremely well.”
Maddison had recently been linked with a move to Spurs, prior to Statham’s comments (Mirror). The 22-year-old had an impressive debut season in the Premier League for Leicester. Since joining the Foxes from Norwich for £22.5 million, Maddison managed 7 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League.
Despite Maddison’s promising start to life in the Premier League he is yet to receive a first team cap for England. Although he was called up to the squad in October 2018, for games against Croatia and Spain, Maddison never made an appearance. He was also subsequently left out of the most recent England squad for the UEFA Nations League finals, to the surprise of many (Sporting Life).
Maddison may feel that he needs to move to a club competing in Europe’s top competitions in order to force his way into an already clustered England midfield.
Spurs Web Opinion
Maddison definitely showed flashes of his talent this season and at just 22 years of age, he would be a great addition to the squad. Signing young English talent would also benefit the club in the long run as I’m sure Pochettino will have his eye on ensuring that the home-grown quota is met.
£100 million does seem overly expensive though, even in today’s market, and whether he would be good enough to directly replace Eriksen remains to be seen.
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