Spurs are brewing a dream Maddison replacement in 17-year-old "cheat-code"

It was another miserable game for Tottenham Hotspur last night.

Ange Postecoglou’s side travelled to Stamford Bridge hoping to turn things around with what would have been an unlikely win, but instead of doing that, they practically handed Chelsea all three points.

It was an entirely lifeless performance from the North Londoners and one that could well seal the manager’s fate.

One of the worst displays came from James Maddison, who continues to frustrate in the middle of the park, which is something he might not be able to do for too much longer, as Hotspur Way is currently brewing the perfect replacement.

Maddison’s frustrating Spurs career

When Tottenham completed the £40m signing of Maddison in the summer of 2023, there was plenty of understandable excitement from fans as he had just produced 19 goal involvements for a relegated Leicester City.

His initial form for the North Londoners justified this excitement as well as he produced eight goal involvements in his first ten league games for the club, but then he picked up an ankle injury against Chelsea, and when he returned in late January, the problems began.

Instead of being a game-changing midfielder, capable of controlling matches and tearing opposition defences to shreds, he became far more passive, lacklustre and simply ineffective, picking up just five goal involvements across his final 17 league appearances.

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This season has been just as frustrating, as while he has managed to score 11 goals and provide seven assists in just 39 games, he continues to put in incredibly inconsistent performances.

One week, he’s like the player we saw at the start of last season, and then in the next, he’s a total passenger.

We saw the latter in the game last night, as even though it was a derby between two teams and fanbases who do not like one another, he was practically anonymous in the middle of the park, coming off in the 81st minute with no goals or assists, having lost five out of five duels and with a combined expected goal and assists figure of just 0.11, which is nowhere good enough for the team’s creative hub.

It’s hard to see where Maddison goes from here, as nobody doubts his talent, but he is seemingly unable to produce consistently enough for a top side, and if he’s not careful, he could see himself replaced by one of the most exciting players currently in the academy.

The Spurs academy star who could replace Maddison

While Mikey Moore, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray have all made a mark on the first team this season, we could see an even more exciting youngster do the same next year: Lucá Williams-Barnett.

The 17-year-old phenom is undoubtedly the most promising prospect in the academy at the moment and could be battling Maddison for a place as the midfield’s chief creator sooner rather than later.

Now, that might sound like hyperbole, but we really don’t think it is, as in just 17 appearances this season, totalling 1375 minutes, the young maestro has already amassed a frankly absurd haul of 18 goals and nine assists.

That means he is currently averaging 1.58 goal involvements every game, or one every 50.92 minutes, which is the sort of incredible output that could and really should see him introduced into the first team next season.

Moreover, the Luton-born gem is also incredibly versatile and has made appearances in left midfield, on both wings and even up top, leading to academy expert and pundit John Wenham to describe him as a “cheat-code.”

Ultimately, Maddison might still have one more season of being the team’s recognised ten purely down to the age of Williams-Barnett, but if he doesn’t massively improve soon, then the teenage sensation could take his spot in the coming years, and, based on his output in the academy, we wouldn’t be surprised to see that happen.

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