Pundit thinks Maddison’s new position at Spurs might be perfect for him
Don Hutchison believes that James Maddison can be easier to mark out of the game if he plays as a traditional number ten.
James Maddison’s new position at Tottenham
On several occasions this season, Ange Postecoglou has opted to use Maddison as a left-sided number eight rather than as an out-and-out number ten.
This is because the Australian has chosen to partner the Englishman with Dejan Kulusevski in the middle of the park, with the Swede playing as a right-sided eight.
This has meant that Maddison has the freedom to drop deep the receive the ball and the 27-year-old showed against Brentford just how devastating he can be when he does that.
The Bees players were unable to cope with the former Leicester City man’s movement and his guile, with the Spurs star effortlessly going past a couple of challenges to open up the pitch for his side on a number of occasions.
The new position is getting the best out of Maddison
Hutchinson believes that Tottenham have to get Maddison on the ball as much as possible and suggested that it might be more difficult to smother him if he is playing in a deeper role.
The pundit told Optus Sport about the attacking midfielder: “He’s the one that’s got the magic, he’s a confident lad. He’s one of these players that you need to feed him because he can be anonymous in a game. You just need him on the ball. He’s a very intelligent player.
“As a No.10, you can sometimes get lost in games. Once the opposition do their homework on him and find out he’s playing on the left-hand side…can they smother him?”
Spurs Web Opinion
Hutchinson’s point is fair but the other side is that Tottenham are a little more defensively exposed when Maddison played as an eight as the Englishman does not have the legs of a Sarr to put out fires. However, that is a bargain Postecoglou seems quite happy to make.
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