James Maddison has promised to fill the creative void at Tottenham after he admitted to a sense of inevitability about joining the club.
The England international completed a £40million move to Spurs from Leicester in June and will make his debut in Sunday’s Premier League opener away to Brentford.
It will mark the start of a new era for Tottenham with a huge sense of mixed emotions amongst the fanbase after Harry Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich was finalised on Saturday.
While Kane’s departure is a bitter pill to swallow, there remains optimism about the attacking brand of football new manager Ange Postecoglou will try to implement and excitement around signings like Maddison.
Speaking at a TNT Sports event last week before Kane’s departure, Maddison said: “When I was speaking to my agent about moving clubs and you come to a place where you need to make decisions, where you want to go and what you think fits best, I could actually see myself playing for Spurs.
“There’s a little window for me at Tottenham Hotspur, a creative player that they’ve always had, maybe not had in recent years.
“I could definitely see myself, when making the decision, playing for Tottenham, in that kit, in that stadium and being the creative player I know I can be.
“I’ve always had a strong self belief and I’ll always back myself and my own ability to succeed. It hasn’t failed me so far so I will continue to have that mindset and attitude. I just saw myself playing at Tottenham.”
Maddison, 27, had been tracked by Spurs since he was a teenager at Coventry and following spells with Norwich and Leicester, he will finally wear the white of Tottenham.
He appears the natural heir to Christian Eriksen, who wore the crown as the team’s chief creator until his departure in 2020.
Kane has carried the creative burden alongside his goalscoring exploits in recent seasons under the pragmatic football of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, but his exit on the eve of the season will further put the onus on Maddison.
“There was interest that never really fully materialised for whatever reason,” Maddison reflected on Spurs’ past interest.
“When I spoke to the chairman (Daniel Levy), he shared with me that he was a fan of mine and had followed my career for a while. That was obviously nice to hear.
“Sometimes things don’t always work out and you can’t just like a player and get them, it doesn’t always work like that. It is a little bit more complicated than that, but it was nice to hear and that there had been interest.
“You do see sometimes hear rumours and paper talk and stuff, but when it did materialise and I ended up speaking to the manager and chairman, it was a thing I was flattered by and I’m really happy to be at Tottenham.”
If Maddison buys into the notion that he fits in at Spurs, he has a similar opinion of new boss Postecoglou, who made the former Leicester playmaker one of his vice-captains on Saturday.
Postecoglou will make his Premier League bow at Brentford and while his name does not carry the same weight that Mourinho and Conte did, there seems no doubt fans will quickly get on board if his bold, attacking style can translate into results.
Maddison added: “I think that’s why he’s at Tottenham as well because of how he likes to play.
“It kind of suits Tottenham and maybe what they lacked a little bit with managers of recent times. The club has obviously had some big name managers and the type of football I imagine Spurs fans want to see has been a little bit lacking.
“But the quality is there to be an attacking team. The players are there to do it and the manager made no hesitation on the way he wants to play.”
McTominay has no regrets over Man Utd exit
Scott McTominay says he has no regrets about leaving Manchester United to join Napoli after a lightning-quick start to life in Italy.
He has scored three goals in 10 appearances for the Italian club in all competitions, netting twice in Serie A to help them sit top of the table after 12 games.
Only Romelu Lukaku has scored more league goals for Napoli than him this season, while McTominay has also had the second-most big chances (four) among his team-mates, scoring two of them.
Before his transfer deadline day move, McTominay had spent 22 years at United, joining their academy aged five before making his debut in May 2017.
The Scotland international made 255 appearances for the senior team, scoring 29 goals, including 10 during his most prolific season in 2023-24, and providing eight assists.
While McTominay admitted leaving his boyhood club was not an easy choice, he is pleased with the outcome of the choice.
"Obviously, it's a big decision, there's no denying that. It was a huge decision for me and my family and my friends," he told The Times.
"At times like that in your life, you just have to say, 'Do I want to do it? Absolutely,' and go for it. There's no looking back. I've never had any regrets in my life, or my career and I continue that way to this day.
"I want my career to be successful, and I'm going to go out of my way to try and push myself to be the best football player and best person that I can possibly be."
St Kitts and Nevis, Belize secure first leg advantage in Nations League Play-In
Saint Kitts and Nevis and Belize place one foot in the Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims as both secured 2-1 wins over Cuba and French Guiana, respectively, in the opening leg of their Concacaf Nations League Play-In on Thursday.
Romaine Sawyers (8th) and Andre Burley (48th) were the scorers for Saint Kitts and Nevis, while Luis Paradela (40th) pulled one back for Cuba at the SKNFA Technical Center in Basseterre.
Meanwhile, at the FFB Stadium in Belmopan, Belize through goals from Carlos Bernardez (67th) and Eugene Martinez (75th) also secured an advantage heading into return leg action on Tuesday. Thomas Torvic (90+3) got French Guiana’s goal.
The winning teams on aggregate will advance to the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims.
Saint Kitts and Nevis vs. Cuba
Sawyers opened the scoring for Saint Kitts and Nevis with a right-footed strike inside the penalty area after latching on to a final pass from Omari Sterling-James.
However, Paradela pulled Cuba level with a tidy finish from Orlando Calvo’s perfectly weighted ball into the area.
Cuba’s celebrations were short-lived as Burley restored the “Sugar Boyz” lead when he expertly headed home from Sterling-James’ weighted freekick.
Cuba will host Saint Kitts and Nevis in the second leg on Monday at Estadio Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba.
Belize vs. French Guiana
After playing out a goalless first half, Bernardez broke the deadlock for Belize from a penalty spot much to the delight of home crowd.
Martinez extended the lead when he applied the finishing touch to Jordy Polanco’s decent corner kick.
Down but not out, Torvic ensured French Guiana remained in striking distance as he headed home from Thomas Vancaeyezeele’s assist.
French Guiana and Belize will meet for the second leg on Tuesday at Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion in Paramaribo, Suriname.
St Vincent and the Grenadines, El Salvador register wins in League B battle for promotion
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines kept hopes of a promotion in the Concacaf Nations League alive as they beat Monserrat 2-1, while El Salvador clipped Bonaire 1-0 in Group A of League B on Thursday.
Steven Pierre (42nd) fired home from a delightful Shakeem Adams pass before Cornelius Stewart (86th) converted from the penalty spot to seal a crucial win for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Meanwhile, Donervorn Daniels (88th) scored Montserrat’s consolation in the curtain-raiser of the double-header at Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador.
In the feature contest, host and group leaders El Salvador also secured a crucial win courtesy of Styven Vasquez’s 83rd-minute strike, which came from a Santos Ortiz assist.
By virtue of the results, El Salvador remain atop the standings on 12 points, two points ahead of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (10 points), while Bonaire (four points) and Montserrat (three points) are battling to avoid relegation.
As such, things will be interesting on Sunday’s final matchday as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will face Bonaire in the first encounter before El Salvador cross swords with Montserrat in the feature at the same venue.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
