According to journalist Lyall Thomas, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou may deploy James Maddison in a new position at the club.
Speaking about Maddison’s potential arrival at Spurs, Thomas revealed that Tottenham havs been interested in the player for several years, even during Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure as manager.
While Maddison has primarily played as a number ten, Thomas suggests that Postecoglou sees him as a number eight in an attacking role.
Drawing parallels to Celtic’s playing style under Postecoglou, Thomas mentioned the advanced positioning of midfielder Matt O’Riley, who had an impressive season with more touches in the opposition box than any other Celtic player.
Thomas believes that Maddison will occupy a central midfield role but will be deployed in an advanced position, similar to how Christian Eriksen operated during Pochettino’s time at the club.
Speaking on the Last Word on Spurs YouTube channel, he said:
“As I said, it goes back a lot longer than 12 months. He’s a player Tottenham have had on their radar for years, since [Mauricio] Pochettino’s time.
“Like I said they had the chance to sign him before, they didn’t think it was quite the right time, didn’t think he was ready.
“I think Ange [Postecoglou] sees him as a number eight even though he’s played as a ten.
“I think he sees him as an attacking number eight. If you look at the way Celtic played last year, he used Matt O’Riley a lot as a very advanced number eight.
“If you look at Matt O’Riley’s stats, who was another player who had a great season last year, he had more touches in the opposition box than any other Celtic player and he’s a midfield player.
“So, that should give you an idea of how far forward, how advanced [James] Maddison will play, even though technically he’s going to be a central midfield player.
“I think he’ll be the one that will be dictating and creating chances really high up [the pitch]. Very similar to how Christian Eriksen played in Mauricio Pochettino’s formation.”
As an attacking number eight, Maddison is expected to have a significant influence in creating and dictating chances for Tottenham, playing in advanced areas of the pitch.
This potential positional change for Maddison reflects Postecoglou’s tactical vision and his intention to maximize the player’s attacking prowess.
