Spurs have discovered their very personal Odegaard in £63m “magician”

Tottenham Hotspur would possibly simply be probably the most inconsistent staff within the Premier League.

Within the final month or so, Ange Postecoglou’s aspect have handed Crystal Palace and Ipswich City their first wins of the season whereas then demolishing Aston Villa 4-1 and, most impressively, embarrassing Manchester Metropolis 4-0 on the Etihad.

Followers shall be hoping that the sudden consequence in opposition to Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut will see the North Londoners embark on a run of excellent kind, and primarily based on the performances of their gamers in that recreation, we would not be stunned if that occurs.

From prime to backside, Postecoglou’s beginning lineup reminded the remainder of the league simply how good they’re, and there is one participant within the Australian’s squad who’s starting to appear like Tottenham’s reply to Martin Odegaard.

Spurs’ inventive midfield expertise

Earlier than we get onto the participant in query, let’s look at just a few of the opposite inventive midfielders exceeding expectations for Spurs this season, beginning with somebody who loves taking part in on the Etihad, Dejan Kulusevski.

Now, the Swedish maestro did begin off the correct of Dominic Solanke for the sport on Sunday however has primarily performed in midfield this season, and to say he is tailored to life in the course of the park effectively could be a colossal understatement.

Of his eight purpose involvements this season, six of them have come in central or attacking midfield roles, and in accordance with FBref, which compares gamers in Europe’s prime 5 leagues, the previous Juventus ace sits within the prime 1% of midfielders for anticipated assists, touches within the opposition’s penalty space and the highest 4% for shot-creating actions, per 90.

One other of the membership’s midfield gems who hasn’t been fairly as spectacular as Kulusevski however has nonetheless proven glimpses of promise is fellow Swede Lucas Bergvall.

The 18-year-old has solely performed 325 minutes of first-team motion to date, however in that, the “uber-complete” expertise, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, has supplied two assists and proven greater than sufficient for followers to get enthusiastic about simply how good he’ll be just a few years down the road.

That stated, neither he nor his older compatriot are trying just like the membership’s reply to Odegaard. That accolade goes to a different inventive midfielder.

Spurs’ personal Odegaard

So, it is most likely pretty apparent at this level that the Spurs ace who’s Ange’s personal Odegaard is, after all, James Maddison, whom FOTmob now worth at €75m, which is £63m.

The Englishman was as soon as closely in comparison with the Norwegian in 2021 when it appeared as if Arsenal had been making an attempt to determine which one to signal, and whereas issues have not been all plain crusing for the previous Foxes star in North London, he is beginning to present that he may be simply nearly as good.

For instance, like the previous Actual Madrid wonderkid, he is simply as adept at scoring targets as he’s creating them, as evidenced by his Lilywhites tally of 9 targets and 13 assists in 46 appearances, in comparison with 11 targets and 14 assists in 55 appearances for the Norwegian in the identical interval.

Furthermore, whereas the Drammen-born dynamo is the Gunners’ captain, Postecoglou made the 27-year-old “magician,” as dubbed by analyst Statman Dave, one of many membership’s co-vice-captains final summer time, which is about probably the most he might do with Son Heung-min nonetheless within the aspect.

Moreover, Maddison’s management qualities had been on present within the match in opposition to Metropolis, as he maintained his composure, scored two targets and continued to guide by instance as the sport progressed.

Lastly, once we take a look at their underlying inventive numbers from the whole lot of final season, because the Arsenal man has missed a lot of this season, we see that, as soon as once more, the pair are extremely comparable.

For instance, in accordance with FBref, they rank very carefully in a number of essential metrics, together with non-penalty targets plus assists, progressive passes and carries, key and stay passes, shot and goal-creating actions and passing accuracy, all per 90.

Finally, whereas there are occasions Maddison fades out of video games, his unreal innate expertise is plain, and as he continues to enhance this season, it’s going to grow to be extra obvious that he’s Postecoglou and Spurs’ reply to Odegaard.

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