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Tottenham line up summer swoop for Eriksen heir

By Rucker Haringey

NORWICH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: James Maddison of Norwich City shows appreciation to the fans after the The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Norwich City and Chelsea at Carrow Road on January 6, 2018 in Norwich, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
NORWICH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: James Maddison of Norwich City shows appreciation to the fans after the The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Norwich City and Chelsea at Carrow Road on January 6, 2018 in Norwich, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images) /
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James Maddison is one of Tottenham’s top summer targets

Whenever Christian Eriksen is out of the Tottenham lineup, Mauricio Pochettino’s attack suffers mightily. That’s precisely why the Argentine gaffer is shopping for the talented Dane’s heir this summer.

Reports from England claim that Tottenham will make a summer swoop for Norwich attacking midfielder James Maddision. The Canaries value their talented number ten at somewhere around £20 million. That’s a significant price for a Championship player, but it’s well within the budget of a top-tier Premier League club.

Spurs, of course, will be monitoring their budget closely this summer. They need to be smart with their transfer maneuvers to make sure they can improve while simultaneously paying for their brand new stadium. Swooping for young, English talent has proven to be an effective use of resources for Tottenham in recent years.

Buying Maddison would be a move straight out of Pochettino’s operating manual. He’s made a living at Spurs by acquiring young English talent and transforming them into valuable Premier League regulars. More specifically, Pochettino has a real penchant for turning relatively unknown English players into key players of the country’s national team.

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The 21-year-old midfielder may not be a household name, but his play for Norwich has been nothing short of exceptional. He leads the club with a Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.37 in 28 league appearances. Maddison also leads Norwich in both goals and assists. That’s not an easy accomplishment for any player. It’s certainly unusual for a player who is still so young.

In terms of playing style, he is most comfortable when deployed as a number ten. That’s precisely why he projects to be Eriksen’s ultimate replacement. Pochettino doesn’t want to transition away from his silky Dane anytime soon, but the club have to acquire some talented cover. Purchasing Maddison this summer would prepare Tottenham for life without Eriksen due to injury, age, or an unlikely transfer move away from Spurs.

Just because they play the same position, that doesn’t mean they are identical players. Eriksen lives to create scoring opportunities for others. Maddison is a more selfish player with the ball at his feet. That doesn’t mean the Englishman doesn’t create quality opportunities for his teammates, but his focus is finding the back of the net himself.

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In the end, it will be a mild surprise if Maddison doesn’t end up at Tottenham sometime this summer. It won’t be a simple acquisition for Spurs, but it’s the type of deal Pochettino will really want to get done. Count on more English talent entering the Tottenham pipeline when the next transfer window opens.

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