Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham have made an ‘outstanding’ signing

Tottenham Hotspur may have lost Harry Kane’s services this summer, but they’ve done fairly good incoming business overall.

Spurs have signed a host of players this summer. Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, Manor Solomon, Ashley Phillips, Alejo Veliz and Micky van de Ven have all joined

With Tottenham talisman Kane going to Bayern Munich for an initial £86million, Spurs have money in the bank to bolster their ranks further.

New strikers are likely to be the main priority for Ange Postecoglou. And there’s scope for another defender and midfielder too.

While transfer business will continue until the start of September, the Tottenham boss now has to turn his attentions to competitive football returning.

Ahead of Spurs’ Premier League opener against Brentford, Postecoglou spoke at length about several topics, including recent signings.

Maddison is arguably the most high-profile Tottenham summer arrival, an England international who has long been tearing it up in the Premier League.

‘He’s been brilliant’

On Friday, football.london asked Postecoglou whether Maddison would be able to fill part of the hole left by Kane’s switch to Bavaria.

“He was one of the first pieces of business we did,” replied the Spurs head coach.

“He was available and I was really excited to bring him into the group. Knowing what we needed to build here.

“And again, knowing if Harry was going to leave that’s a fair few goals walking out of the door and knowing you can’t just replace that with one player

“An area of the club that needing bolstering was midfield threat in terms of goals. And that’s what Madders provides – goals and assists.

“If we’ve going to cover the fact that Harry’s gone and all the goals are leaving with him, we’re going to have to spread that out and Madders provides that.

“He’s been brilliant since he’s come in, he’s been outstanding. Not just in the games but in training. And the way he’s embraced the club and developed in the football we want to play.”

Our view

Tottenham struck gold when it came to signing Maddison. Things certainly aligned perfectly for Spurs on that front.

We’ve all seen what he can do. And Sky Sports recently wrote about his impressive stats over the past few years.

‘His status among the elite is evident in the statistics,’ they wrote when he joined Tottenham.

‘Since his arrival at Leicester from Norwich in 2018, only two players – Kevin De Bruyne and Trent Alexander-Arnold – have created more chances in the Premier League

‘While only three – Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son – have had more shots on goal.

‘Maddison also ranks in the top eight for assists and big chances created. With 43 goals in that period, only 18 players have scored more.’

As luck would have it, Maddison got relegated with Leicester – despite his best offers – as his contract was heading into its last 12 months.

As a result, Spurs managed to sign him for a modest fee, all things considered. Now, it’ll be exciting to see how he fares in navy and white.