Tottenham player stats: Is James Maddison having a better season than people realise? | OneFootball

It goes without saying that regarding Tottenham, all eyes are on their influential forward Son Heung-Min. While he’s not posting eye-catching numbers, teammate James Maddison is quietly having a better season than people think.

Since joining from Leicester City last summer, he has been Ange Postecoglou’s chief creator, having created 2.39 chances and nearly one assist per game. Before the September international break, Maddison had assisted in four of his last five Premier League games, including the previous two matches of the 2024/25 season.

No Spurs player has ever assisted a goal in each of their first three games in a single campaign before, and that will remain the case as the seven-time England international was only able to create two chances, none of which were converted.

It has nevertheless been a return to form for Maddison, who produced five assists and scored three more across his opening 11 league appearances for Spurs before suffering a serious ankle injury that robbed him of 10 matches in England’s top division. He would endure an indifferent back end of the 2023/24 campaign (four assists and one goal across 17 games), ultimately costing him a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad at Euro 2024.

Though Maddison wasn’t part of interim boss Lee Carsley’s first squad — with the former U21 head coach opting for some new faces in midfield — the door hasn’t been entirely closed, especially if he can keep up this early-season momentum. After the opening five matchdays, no Premier League player has a better xA than Maddison (2.86).

Indeed, last time out against Brentford, he scored and assisted in a Premier League game for the first time for Tottenham, having last done so in the competition in May 2021 for Leicester against Fulham. He’s posted three big chances created, with two assists to show for it, and the 27-year-old feels there is more to a performance than just the raw numbers.

“For some games you have it where I feel like I play really well in the build-up and help the team progress but you don’t get a goal or assist to show for that,” he told the PA news agency. “And then people start questioning the numbers, so sometimes you have to take the outside noise with a pinch of salt.”

Under the leadership of Postecoglou, the Coventry native initially operated in a deep-lying forward role behind the centre-forward before now taking up a ‘number eight’ role in Spurs’ midfield three. It has subsequently created a formidable left flank with Destiny Udogie and Son operating nearby.

Indeed, when it comes to Spurs this season, only Son (13) has created more chances than him (12), while no one has registered more successful passes ending in the final third (116). When it comes to completed passes (236), only the centre-back pairing of Cristian Romero (254) and Micky van de Ven (343) have more, which illustrates their manager’s philosophy of building up from the back.

Not known for his ball-carrying abilities, he completed seven dribbles in the mentioned Brentford victory, setting a new record for a Premier League match this season. His quick feet, awareness of space, and balance fundamentally make up for his lack of pace, with the midfielder being extremely skilled at creating half a yard for himself, which has allowed him to win numerous fouls; at the moment, it’s 11, which is more than any Spurs player.