Five reasons James Maddison would be Spurs’ perfect Eriksen replacement

The possibility of Tottenham losing Christian Eriksen this summer is becoming all too real.

Eriksen appears to be stalling on signing a new contract with his current deal set to expire at the end of next season, which could force Spurs into making a tricky decision this summer.

The Dane has been linked linked with Real Madrid in recent weeks. If new terms aren’t agreed with Tottenham before the summer transfer window, the Londoners may choose to sell.

And according to the Mirror and the Times, Spurs have already identified a potential replacement.

Leicester City playmaker James Maddison was said to be a Tottenham target before joining the Foxes from Norwich City last summer. A year later, it looks like Spurs could step up their interest.

Here are five reasons why Tottenham should try to make a deal for Maddison happen.

1. Spurs are likely to make a big profit

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is a renowned tough negotiator

Before we get into why Maddison would be a good fit for Tottenham from a footballing perspective, let’s look at the financial reality of the situation.

Even with just a year left on his contract, Spurs will almost certainly a demand a huge fee for Eriksen. The Times claims he could be valued at over £60m, but with chairman Daniel Levy involved it could be even steeper than that.

Meanwhile, the Times believes Maddison may be available at just £44m. His nationality might see that price edge closer to the £50m-mark, meaning Spurs would have to break their transfer record to get him. Regardless, the incoming fee for Eriksen would make up for any money spent on Maddison.

What’s more, tying Eriksen down to a new deal would require Tottenham to put the Dane in a similar wage bracket to the club’s highest-paid player, Harry Kane, who is said to earn around £200,000 a week. Maddison would surely demand less.

2. Eriksen and Maddison share similar profiles

Eriksen has been playing in a slightly deeper role for Spurs this season. Mauricio Pochettino has taken a liking to the 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Eriksen on the left and Dele Alli sitting at the tip behind strikers Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Of course, Eriksen is the sort of creative midfielder who roams into the positions he is most needed. Often this season, he has dropped deep to receive the ball and start attacks in the middle third of the pitch.

Maddison starts in a more advanced position, playing as more of a traditional central attacking midfielder behind the striker. But despite their modest positional differences, Eriksen and Maddison are quite similar in profile.

Eriksen has created 2.36 chances per 90 league minutes this season; Maddison has created 2.97. Eriksen has won 1.57 aerial duels per 90; Maddison has won 1.51. They have both made 1.51 tackles per 90.

If Tottenham are to lose Eriksen, they will require a player who can offer something very similar in order to plug the gap. In that regard, Maddison is ultimately the closest player with Premier League experience who is attainable, but that doesn’t mean he is complete identical to Eriksen…

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3. Maddison offers something different

Where the players differ is interesting. Maddison has completed more dribbles per 90 minutes (1.51) and won more fouls (2.24) than Eriksen (0.39 dribbles, 0.67 fouls won). But Eriksen has completed more passes (52.34) per 90 and more total through balls (15) than Maddison (35.27 completed passes, 12 through balls).

Because of the teams they play for and their deviating goals, Maddison sees less of the ball than Eriksen, which perhaps explains the Leicester midfielder’s fewer passes. It seems he is more penetrative in possession, however, often opting to dribble and win fouls rather than play a killer ball.

Indeed, only six Premier League players have won more fouls this season than Maddison (43), who has also created more chances from set plays (29) than any other player in the division overall. He clearly knows what he’s doing when he goes down for a free-kick.

What Spurs would lose from Eriksen’s exit would be the former Ajax star’s effortless calm, his ability to pick the perfect moment to carve open a defence with a perfectly weighted pass. That said, Maddison is just 22 and has plenty of time to develop that side of his game.

4. Spurs need to increase their home-grown quota

In last summer’s transfer window, Tottenham infamously failed to bring in any new signings. However, it’s easy to forget Spurs spent August of last year pursuing Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish, only for the Championship club’s new owners to declare him not for sale at the last moment.

One of the reasons Tottenham were keen on Grealish was his nationality, and their reported interest in Maddison could be partly down to the same thing. Spurs are apparently eager to increase their home-grown quota by bring in more young English players.

The number of foreign players in the current group has caused issues with squad selections this term; the club was forced to leave Juan Foyth out their Champions League squad for the group stages, whereas they would have faced no such issue had Foyth been English.

Pochettino’s track record with English youngsters also makes looking for players close to home more alluring than scouting overseas. The likes of Kane, Alli, Eric Dier and Harry Winks have all developed impressively under Pochettino’s tutelage and there is potential for Maddison to do the same.

Maddison has created more chances than any English player in the Premier League this season (57), so Spurs wouldn’t be moving for just any Three Lions hopeful for the sake of it. There is huge potential there.

5. Maddison would add much needed depth in attack

Tottenham’s attacking injury crisis hasn’t harmed their league form too badly in recent weeks, but their double cup exit in January was a direct result of having three of their best attackers – Kane, Alli and Son – sidelined at the same time.

In the 2-0 FA Cup fourth round defeat to Crystal Palace, Pochettino rested Eriksen because of tiredness and started with a front three of Lucas Moura, Fernando Llorente and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, who left for Monaco on loan just days later.

There was a complete lack of inventiveness in the team until Erik Lamela was introduced from the bench. But the Argentinian has been unreliable in terms of fitness for some time now, meaning Spurs are in need of another creative attacker.

Regardless of whether Eriksen stays or goes, Tottenham should be pursuing a player like Maddison to avoid similar situations to the Palace defeat and to increase their chances of realistically competing for silverware.

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