Tottenham news – Son Heung-min has delivered an amazing verdict on James Maddison after his performance against Arsenal
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min has praised James Maddison after his performance on his North London Derby debut. The attacking midfielder joined Spurs from Leicester in the summer for £40m and he has already made a significant impact in Ange Postecoglou’s new Tottenham side.
In six Premier League matches, Maddison has contributed two goals and four assists, including a brace against Arsenal last weekend. The England international was forced to receive the ball in deeper positions in the first half against the Gunners, almost leading to a goal for Gabriel Jesus.
After Arsenal took the lead, Spurs controlled more and thanks to that Maddison won the ball back in a dangerous area. To equalize, he left Bukayo Saka dead on the touchline before passing for Son to head in and in the second half the same duo combined just moments after the Gunners had taken the lead after Maddison stole possession from Jorginho.
The point picked up at Emirates Stadium saw Spurs remain unbeaten with 14 points taken from a possible 18, dispelling the talk that Spurs would struggle without Harry Kane. Following his summer transfer to Bayern Munich, Son has stepped up to the plate in attack with five goals to his name from Premier League action.
Replacing Kane, with his scoring quality and creativity, is considered almost impossible, but Son admits Maddison believes he can reach his level with the Spurs captain. This proved that if it wasn’t already known, he could be the main character in the targets.
“Obviously Harry Kane is one of the best players in the world, but Madders thinks he can reach the same level as him,” Son told the Evening Standard after the 2-2 draw against Arsenal. “Taking number 10 is not the easiest task, but he likes the pressure, likes the responsibility which makes him a great player.
“In every single game he’s the star boy. He’s very, very clever. He always pictures before he receives the ball what he wants to do. His movement is very clever and he’s very unselfish. I don’t think people always see it. People see the stats [and say], ‘Look, he needs more goals, needs more assists’. But he’s doing an amazing job for the team with and without the ball.”
