James Maddison is more than happy to shoulder responsibility at Tottenham but has insisted it will take a “collective” effort to replace Harry Kane.
Maddison continues to impress in the Spurs number 10 shirt previously worn by Kane, who completed a £100million move to Bayern Munich on the eve of the new season.
Kane’s departure has not derailed the early progress of Ange Postecoglou’s team with Maddison relishing his role as creator in chief with two assists at Brentford earlier this month followed up with a maiden Tottenham goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
While Richarlison and captain Son Heung-min are yet to open their accounts for the season, Dejan Kulusevski ended his drought with the second at the Vitality Stadium to extend the feelgood factor currently around the club.
“It’s tough if you’re asking me to try and get 30 goals,” Maddison joked.
“It’s a collective. You can’t even look to replace what Harry Kane gives you. You’ve got to all chip in and look to try and score the same amount of goals from different areas.
“Harry is probably the best number nine in the world. You will never find a direct replacement in terms of goals and what he can give you. We should all be chipping in.”
Spurs have had five different goalscorers and benefited from an own goal during their three Premier League fixtures and there appears a new lease of life for several members of a squad rundown by the end of a tough 2022-23 campaign.
Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr, having rarely featured under Postecoglou’s predecessor Antonio Conte, have quickly formed an encouraging midfield partnership with Maddison, and Pedro Porro has made the most of his early opportunities at right-back.
When Maddison joined from Leicester in June for an initial £40million fee, he was not viewed as a replacement for Kane but continues to provide creativity and a goal threat.
The 26-year-old insists the philosophy of ex-Celtic boss Postecoglou has been key to Tottenham’s flying start despite losing the England captain.
Maddison told BBC’s Match of the Day: “The type of person I am, I’m at my best when I have responsibility on my shoulders and that’s when I thrive.
“I am a player who loves to be on the ball and that fits with how the manager wants his players to play. This was a good day for all that.
“We’ve got the bit between our teeth. We have some momentum so long may that continue and hopefully we can still implement the final steps the gaffer wants to see, which is attacking football.”
Postecoglou has enjoyed an unbeaten start to life at Tottenham but it is a different story for Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola.
Iraola watched his team open the season with a 1-1 home draw against West Ham before defeats have followed against Liverpool and Tottenham.
The fixture list does not get any kinder with Brentford, Chelsea, Brighton and Arsenal to come in September but Iraola blamed himself for a drop-off during the latter stages of this Spurs loss, with Ryan Christie’s withdrawal on the hour mark viewed in hindsight as a mistake.
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“We knew from the beginning that we had a very tough schedule to start and now we have some important players out with injuries but we have to keep competing,” Iraola insisted.
“I think probably after the game you think and I shouldn’t have taken Ryan out of from the game because especially without the ball, he was pressing really well.
“I wanted to go a little bit more offensive, but we were worse from that point. I don’t know if it was after the subs or 2-0 because it was one minute later.
“Probably until the 62nd minute we were playing well and – against a very good team – having our chances.
“So, I was quite happy with the performance, but from there we couldn’t keep the intensity and they were controlling the game much easier.”
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
'Right guy at the right time' - Amorim confident of changing Man Utd's fortunes
Ruben Amorim believes he is the "right guy at the right time" to turn Manchester United's fortunes around.
The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this month to keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027, replacing Erik ten Hag after he was sacked in October.
Amorim is the sixth permanent United manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, having left Sporting CP to take charge during the international break.
He won two Primeira Liga titles as Sporting head coach as well as two Taca da Liga trophies, while he led the club to a perfect start in the league this season, winning all 11 of their games.
United sit 13th in the Premier League table ahead of their trip to Ipswich Town on 15 points, though they are just four points behind Chelsea in third.
Amorim recognised the size of the task ahead of him in Manchester but is confident he can make a change.
"I'm a little bit of a dreamer and I believe in myself, and I believe in the club," he said during his first press conference.
"I think we have the same idea, the same mindset and that can help.
"I truly believe in the players; I know you don't believe a lot, but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don't think it's possible, I do.
"Call me naive, but I believe I am the right guy at the right time. I truly believe I am the right guy."
Aged 39 years and 302 days, Amorim will be the youngest to take charge of his first match for the Red Devils since Wilf McGuinness in August 1969 (31y 288d).
United have won just four of their 11 league games so far this season, and have struggled in front of goal, netting just 12 times so far.
Expected to implement his favoured 3-4-3 formation, Amorim admitted it would take time for the club to adapt and has asked for patience as the players get used to his tactics.
"I know at Manchester United we have to win games. We need a lot of time because it's a tough league, we have to improve a lot to try to win the title," he added.
"We have to change the physical aspect of the team. I don't know how long it will take."
'It's a shame' - Alonso confirms Leverkusen's Boniface out with thigh injury
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso confirmed that Victor Boniface will be sidelined for some time after picking up a thigh injury on international duty with Nigeria.
Boniface, who has scored eight goals in 15 appearances in all competitions this season, was replaced late on in the Super Eagles' 2-1 defeat to Rwanda on Monday.
It is another blow for Leverkusen, who have managed 17 points from 10 games so far this season, the worst start to a league campaign in 12 years by a defending champion.
Only Omar Marmoush and Harry Kane (both 11) have scored more goals in the league than Boniface this term (six).
Alonso revealed that the 23-year-old will miss Saturday's Bundesliga encounter against Heidenheim and their Champions League tie against RB Salzburg next week.
"We will have to see how long he will be out. It is a shame," Alonso told a press conference.
"He has a thigh injury. For tomorrow, for Salzburg and maybe a bit longer. We will have to wait and see.
"It is too early to say but we hope he can still play this year. We have to see with the recovery and improvement but it is not a matter of six or eight weeks."
Leverkusen have dropped points in six Bundesliga games already this season (D5, L1), as often as they did during the entirety of their 2023-24 title-winning campaign (D6).
They come into this weekend's fixture against Heidenheim on a three-game winless run in the Bundesliga (D3), the first time they have gone this long without a victory since between April and May 2023 (five games).
Leverkusen sit fourth in the Bundesliga, already nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich as the busy festive schedule kickstarts on Saturday.
Alonso's side have eight games in just under a month, including a DFB-Pokal round of 16 clash with Bayern at the start of December.
"Eight games in four weeks. It is nothing new for us," Alonso said. "An intense phase is coming up for us and it starts tomorrow.
"We have clear goals for the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup."
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