Last Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur made a triumphant return to the Premier League after defeating Crystal Palace at home thanks to three late goals that completely changed the course of the match.
Even though they still have a game in hand and are five points behind Aston Villa in fourth place with 12 games remaining, Ange Postecoglou will feel that there is still a lot of work to be done as the season’s pivotal final stretch approaches. However, there has been significant progress since the team’s struggles in the previous year.
Tottenham’s Harry Kane.
After such dim hopes in the latter stages of the 2022–23 campaign, Tottenham has made steady progress this season and now appear to be a team with promise and potential. The club’s regression is completely perplexing given that Mauricio Pochettino assembled a talented squad. Harry Kane was sold to Bayern Munich back in August.
A commanding display at the back 🧱
You’ve voted Micky van de Ven as your #TOTCRY Player of the Match! 💫
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 4, 2024
Over the past several months, the club has been reconstructed mostly thanks to astute hiring decisions. Postecoglou’s vision has been matched by the acquisitions’ appropriateness, with players like Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson, and James Maddison all thriving in the city.
The latter has served as the superior creative conduit required to restore the cohesiveness and fluidity, and Tottenham is now a very stylish team when they play at their best.
The stats for James Maddison’s season
Newcastle United had been chasing Maddison for a number of years, and although the Magpies managed an unexpected top-four finish the previous year, Tottenham, who had no access to European competition, won the race for the midfielder and signed him for £40 million in June.
Even though Maddison was a key member of the Leicester City team that was demoted from the Premier League the previous year, he deserves some of the blame for his outstanding play, which included ten goals and nine assists in 28 games.
Tottenham greeted him with the knowledge that they had struck a clever trade for one of the top players in the division.
“James Maddison has been the signing of the summer.” Discuss 📝 pic.twitter.com/2lk1pVPdRN
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 6, 2023
James Maddison cheers on Spurs supporters.
The England international is ranked in the top 6%, top 1%, top 12%, and top 2% of offensive midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for assists, shot-creating actions, and progressive passes per ninety. These data are based on FBref.
That’s a convoluted way of saying that he is a world-class creative midfield player, highlighted by his incredible pre-injury Tottenham exploits that earned him the Premier League Player of the Month award in August.
Madison hasn’t quite found the same level of chemistry with his Lilywhites colleagues since going back to competition in January, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been impressive.
Perisic 🔗 Richy pic.twitter.com/9HQxNVZWIB
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 17, 2023
In 16 appearances in the top division this season, the 27-year-old has recorded three goals and seven assists, according to Sofascore. He has also completed 86% of his passes and averaged 2.7 crucial passes, 5.9 successful duels, and 1.5 tackles per game.
Along with other recent additions, Maddison heralds a new era of potential and promise in north London and speaks highly of Postecoglou’s strength in the dugout, molding the team in anticipation of a desired run for championships in the future seasons.
Indeed, it appears that chairman Daniel Levy is managing transfer activity more shrewdly; deals like the one to acquire Ivan Perisic in 2022, which, regrettably, turned out to be a bad commercial decision, are lessons to be learnt.
Why did Spurs acquire Ivan Perisic?
After the dynamic ace’s contract with Inter Milan expired, Tottenham signed him on a free transfer in June 2022. At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Perisic reunited with his old manager Antonio Conte.
🔵🔴🇭🇷 Ivan Perisić will receive €1 salary at Hajduk Split until the end of the season.
There’s release clause into his pact with Hajduk for next two windows.
He has already verbal pact on bonus for qualification to group stage in Europe. pic.twitter.com/6pEu2Eu54g
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 20, 2024
At the age of thirty-three, Perisic was a seasoned player with a skill set well suited for London. He was a tremendous playmaker and set-piece specialist with a glittering trophy case that included Serie A titles with Inter, Bundesliga titles with both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, and participation in Die Roten’s 2019–20 Champions League winning campaign.
To be fair, even though his signing cost Tottenham more money in the end than it was worth on the field, Perisic did manage to record 14 assists from 50 games for the Lilywhites, including eight from 23 starts in the Premier League last year and 11 big-time opportunities created for his teammates, according to Sofascore.
But only 1.2 tackles, 2.9 cleared balls, and 2.9 successful duels per game contributed to the defensive problems that threw Tottenham’s campaign for a loop.
Van der Petriġ, Tottenham, and Hotspur
Furthermore, some writers, like George Sessions, felt that although Perisic had natural talent, it was not being used to its full potential. Sessions wrote: “Perisic has offered very little from the left and his delivery has again been poor, in keeping with recent weeks.”
Tottenham: Player Wages for 2023
Participant
Pay
Son Heung-min
£197k every week
Ivan Perisic
£180,000 per week
Romero Cristian
£175k every week
Richardson
£175k every week
Maddison James
£170,000 weekly
Salary Sport statistics
When you combine that with the Croatian’s outrageous pay, the contract can only be seen as a failure for a player who was ultimately caught up in a seasonal crisis.
Compared to Maddison, Ivan Perisic made more money.
Although Perisic is technically still with Tottenham, his contract expires in the summer and he has returned to his native team, Hadjuk Split, on loan until the end of the current campaign.
Even if Tottenham had cut Perisic’s pay in January, his total compensation would have cost them £15 million. It is unknown if Tottenham will continue to pay Perisic’s salary through the end of the season or if an agreement has been reached for his €1 million income in Croatia to enable the move.
This is a significant investment for a player in their mid-30s spread over just 50 games (£300,000 per game). Considering that he actually began the 2023–24 season earning more than Maddison, it’s challenging to argue that hiring him was worthwhile despite the hassle.
Ultimately, Postecoglou’s vision only gets stronger in its quest for recognition on the continent as Perisic is no longer with Tottenham and they are still molding their team with true quality.
Leave a Reply