Losing James Maddison to injury for the final stretch of the campaign could be detrimental to Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes of returning to the Champions League – the England international is that influential.
Look at the bleak period throughout November and December, when injuries to Maddison and fellow summer signing Micky van de Ven sent Spurs’ season into a spin, with last season’s struggles fixed through Ange Postecoglou’s appointment and the shrewd recruitment since.
Suffering another issue against Aston Villa earlier in March, Van de Ven missed out last weekend as Tottenham got thumped 3-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage, underscoring the Dutchman’s significance within Postecoglou’s entertaining system.
Maddison is just as important, if not more so, and he is indeed the lynchpin for success, vital in bringing Spurs back to that coveted spot in Europe’s elite club competition.
James Maddison’s season in numbers
When the screech of the final whistle solemnly sounded throughout the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in November, with Chelsea 4-1 victors after Spurs suffered two red cards and saw Maddison and Van de Ven trudge off injured, it did seem to be a portent of issues to come.
And it was. Maddison had won the Premier League’s Player of the Month award back in August and had been described as one of “the buys of the summer” by The Times’ Henry Winter, so sublime was the 27-year-old in his playmaking, commitment, command.
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James Maddison: PL Stats 23/24 |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
# |
|
Matches played |
18 |
|
Goals |
4 |
|
Assists |
7 |
|
Pass completion |
87% |
|
Key passes per game |
2.5 |
|
Dribbles per game |
1.3 |
|
Tackles per game |
1.3 |
|
Duels won per game |
5.5 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
He returned to action in January after a couple of months on the sidelines and while he’s not quite returned to those pre-injury levels, the £170k-per-week ace remains the chief creator in Postecoglou’s system, also the joint-most valuable centre-midfielder in the squad at £43m (with Pape Sarr), according to CIES Football Observatory’s player valuation model.
Remarkably, there’s a former Spurs star who was worth just short of double this amount way back when, and that man’s Michael Carrick.
How much Spurs could’ve sold Michael Carrick for in 2024
According to Totally Money, a site specialising in working out how past transfer fees would look in the modern market, Carrick would have been sold for quite the sum if he played today.
The 42-year-old, now manager of Middlesbrough in the Championship, completed 75 appearances for the Lilywhites before completing a £19m move to Manchester United back in July 2006, where he would go on to win a wealth of major honours and retire as one of England’s most decorated players.
This was a sizeable sum back in the day, sure, but Totally Money have arrived at the conclusion that the Red Devils legend would have commanded an incredible £84m fee if United had pounced in the same circumstances, just some 18 years in the future.
Quirkily described as a “piano” by his former teammate Gary Neville for his elegance and deftness alongside some heavy-metal peers, Carrick at his peak would walk into Postecoglou’s side and would surely rival Maddison in his effectiveness and influence, albeit in a different regard.
Ultimately, Carrick’s transfer value is probably a fair reflection, if seeming somewhat exorbitant at a glance. He was an incredible player and underrated inside the Manchester United system, endowed with a brilliant ball-playing ability.
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£15m Spurs hero would be worth more than Maddison if he was sold in 2024
A top talent at Tottenham way back when, this world-class midfielder would eclipse Maddison’s value.
Maddison’s £43m market value as claimed by CIES is probably not a wholly fair figure, should Spurs be inclined to sell in the future, but he would be unlikely to arrive at Carrick’s projected value.
