Tottenham Hotspur has been warned that new signing James Maddison may go missing in games that they’re not controlling.
Pundit Steve Nicol was talking about Tottenham’s newest recruit on ESPN FC.
New manager Ange Postecoglou will be delighted Spurs have got a deal over the line so quickly for James Maddison.
Plenty of teams are struggling to get deals over the line this early in the transfer window.
A glance across North London will see Arsenal continuing some very expensive negotiations with West Ham over Declan Rice.
However, after a £40m fee was agreed, Maddison was very swiftly on his way to sign for Spurs.
He performed brilliantly for Leicester at times last season, but couldn’t prevent them from being relegated.
Nicol was now warned by Tottenham that Maddison can go missing when the team isn’t playing well.
It’s an attribute that Spurs fans might argue could be applied to several of their players.
Postecoglou will have to work out a way to make sure the 26-year-old doesn’t disappear at key moments.
Tottenham warned Maddison can go missing
Asked about Tottenham’s latest recruit, Nicol said: “Since the game began there have been players like James Maddison, who has the ability, but when things are not going for the side they’re in, you don’t see them.
“To me, for one he fits right into that category, when things are going well for him and his team, the guy’s fantastic, what a talent, the whole nine yards.
“But then when things start going the other way, you never see him, he disappears, and he doesn’t do anything for the team.
“And that kind of fits in with Spurs, as they’ve got loads of them. When things are going well, they’ve got plenty of decent players, but when things are going badly, they all disappear.
“They all shrivel up and hide in their shell.”
As last season went on, Tottenham fell apart and eventually missed out on playing in Europe.
A change of system under Postecoglou might improve their fortunes and signing Maddison now facilitates that.
Tottenham will know just how good Maddison is when he doesn’t go missing in games.
However, given his lack of defensive contributions, if he’s not on form going forward, he may end up being sacrificed for an option off the bench.
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