Ange Postecoglou convinced Tottenham have a new leader in James Maddison

James Maddison is ready to become a leader at Tottenham according to new manager Ange Postecoglou. The 26-year-old recently re-established himself in the England team after four years in the wilderness after making his international debut as an exciting young playmaker.

In that time he has been the main figure in Leicester’s challenges for Europe and then, last season, their failed battle against relegation. Now, following his £45million move to White Hart Lane, Postecoglou is ready to move on to the next stage of his development.

“I think he’s in a stage of his career where it feels like he can be a leader, which is great as well because we need players who want to embrace that responsibility within this group,” the Spurs boss said. “Whether it’s their first year in or they’ve been here for ages, we’re going to need leadership on the field and he feels like he can be a player who does that.”

Following the birth of twin daughters Delilah and Rose on July 2, Maddison is also growing up fast off the pitch, Postecoglou believes. “He’s had the birth of twins so I don’t know what shape he’ll be in when he gets here!” he joked.

“But once we get him in, it means he can come on the tour with us and I know he’s really excited about joining the group. He obviously knows a few of the lads.” Maddison’s no-nonsense early-pre-season signing was at odds with Daniel Levy’s usual deadline-day brinkmanship but it gives Postecoglou a summer to build a team around him that does not just rely on counter-attacking as it has under past regimes.

“I was really pleased and the fact that we did it early was great because it allows him to have a break,” he said. “I thought it was a really good fit for us to look for a player like James – even better if we could get James. So we ended up getting James.

“I am really excited to get him as part of the group. Any manager will tell you that part of the key to being a dominant team is having multiple attacking threats and having a midfielder who can score and create goals.

“They’re not easy to come by. He’s proven himself at that level in the last few years, as somebody who can do that. Then you look at Tottenham the last few years, they’ve been really reliant on the front three to get their goals.“

Furthermore, if the current squad cannot refocus on being more dominant in games, he will continue to recruit the right players until they can. “It’s about changing that mindset and changing the way the players see the game, and maybe their roles within it,” he said.

“Because even with the positions they play, there’s going be adjustments in how I want them to do things. It will be a shift from the way the club has played for three or four years.

“In terms of how quickly the players embrace that, the new players coming in will help. That’s the part I have control over. Then it’s about seeing with the existing group how many of them are able to adjust and embrace the way we’re going to play.”