Paul Merson has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur have already made the signing of the season by buying James Maddison.
While he was writing in his Sportskeeds column,Paul Merson was discussing the best transfer of the summer so far.
He includes Kai Havertz’s move to Arsenal and Alexis Mac Allister’s transfer to Liverpool in his top five.
But James Maddison’s £40m move to Tottenham takes the top spot for Paul Merson at this point in the window.
Obviously, it’s still the very early stages of the summer transfer window.
However, Maddison’s move to Spurs make a lot of sense on paper.
Tottenham have been calling out for a creative midfielder for years.
Ever since Christian Eriksen departed, Spurs never really replaced the exceptional Dane.
Maddison has big shoes to fill if he’s going to emulate the success of Eriksen at Tottenham.
However, the attacking style of new manager Ange Postecoglou should suit the 26-year-old.
His role may slightly change at Tottenham compared to Leicester, but Merson is confident Maddison will be a success, especially if they keep hold of Harry Kane.
Merson backs Maddison as an unbelievable Tottenham signing
In his column, Merson said: “If Harry Kane stays at Tottenham, this is an unbelievable signing.
“Kane managed to score 30 Premier League goals last season with pretty much no one to support him from midfield – that’s how good he was for the North London club.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but none of Spurs’ midfielders could thread the needle in terms of a defence-splitting pass, so he had to do a lot of work on his own.
“With Maddison in the squad, I dread to think how much he’d score, because the former Leicester City man doesn’t mess about.
“He gets on the half-turn and puts the ball on the platter for his striker – look at how well he combined with Jamie Vardy at the King Power Stadium.
“While we’re talking about Kane, I’m struggling to see why he’d go to Bayern Munich. If he stays – and I think he will – Maddison immediately becomes the signing of the season, for me.”
Plenty of Tottenham fans will agree with Merson that Maddison looks like a fantastic signing of paper.
Spurs have acted quickly to fill obvious gaps in the squad this summer.
However, it’s easy to discuss the pros and cons of a new player before they’ve taken to the field.
Maddison will need to convert that potential into goals and assists once the season starts next month.
