Speaking in the club’s pre-match press conference ahead of the cancelled Leicester City friendly, Postecoglou waxed lyrical about his new addition’s versatility and just how key he can be in terms of how he wants Tottenham to play.
Ange Postecoglou said: “Yeah I think so. With the way I build the team like that, one of the attractions of him is that he can play in a number of different roles – not right-back – but a number of different roles in the way our midfield is set up I think we’ve got a number of our midfielders who can do that and that’s the way we want to set up,” explained the Australian. “I think he has all the attributes to play in that area of the park for us.”
On if Maddison is the kind of player he enjoys watching and how he wants the team to play,
Ange Postecoglou added: “Yeah, I think I said when I signed him that if you can have a goal threat from other areas than the obvious ones which for most teams is your attacking players in the forward areas, he’s a midfielder who is a real attacking threat in terms of both goals and assists, with his passing and his movement. So from that perspective we want to be an attacking team and the more attacking threats we have the harder it is for the opposition to stop you. The reason we weren’t the only ones interested in him is because when you get players from midfield areas who can provide a goal threat I think they’re pretty valuable to your team. The other side that I’ve really been pleased with is that he works hard off the ball as well you know from a defensive sense. We know that we want to be a team that works hard on the ball and he’s been really good without it. He’s been working hard and you can see that’s a part of the game he’s also embraced.”
Needing a player who can both score and assist on a regular basis to ease the weight on Kane’s shoulders in the final third for quite some time, Maddison has all the attributes to help elevate Tottenham to a new level. Grealish more than proved his worth to Pep Guardiola and Man City last term with five goals and 11 assists as they went on to win the treble, and former Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham believes Postecoglou can do a similar job with Maddison to the one Guardiola did with Grealish.
Ange Postecoglou said: “I think Maddison is a great acquisition. I think Tottenham have needed that type of player playing in in that role – I don’t think they’ve had someone there that can open up defences like he can. I’m very optimistic about Maddison. I don’t think he’s quite the finished article as yet, but hopefully Ange can work with him and improve him as a player in way that was similar to how Pep Guardiola transformed Jack Grealish last season. He took a good player and turned him into a fantastic one. I think that it’s great that he has chosen to join Tottenham. I’m certain he will be a big success at the club.”
Levy, Postecoglou and everyone associated with the club will be hoping that Maddison does indeed turn out to be a huge success during his time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Playing a pivotal role in his five years at Leicester City, Maddison has a major part to play in Postecoglou’s Tottenham revolution as the club look to get back to the lofty heights they reached when they attempted to sign Grealish five years ago.
