James Maddison

[UpTownSpur]

We should definitely try and get him. No guarantee the similar young players we have will make it. Edwards could be working in McDonalds in a few years for all we know and Onomah may end up in Belgium with John Bostock. Absolutely no guarantees at all, however promising they look.

 

[spurs9]

I think oduwa a side it will be a while before we see anyone from the academy challenge (in his position), we have a lot of talent coming though but we have gaps in the academy in certain age groups.

We already have a player from the academy ready for his position, but is getting game time out wide (Onomah). Central attacking mid is not a position we have in our academy that contains gaps. In fact we have players, like Miller, who are forced to play out of position, due to the wealth of talent in AMC. I fear that our fans think that every young player from the lower leagues will have an impact like Alli.

 

[spurs9]

Looks like he can play LW, Second Striker and CF as well:

http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/james-maddison/leistungsdaten/spieler/294057/plus/0?saison=2014

CF as a second striker but certainly not an a lone striker.

 

[chinaman]

But this young lad seems to be destined to be top "medicine".

 

[newbie]

We already have a player from the academy ready for his position, but is getting game time out wide (Onomah). Central attacking mid is not a position we have in our academy that contains gaps. In fact we have players, like Miller, who are forced to play out of position, due to the wealth of talent in AMC. I fear that our fans think that every young player from the lower leagues will have an impact like Alli.

I thought this kid played slightly wider more Pritchard who I really rate, josh is already involved and is as you say more central, I think Miller is more like a Scott Parker but technically very good.

 

[spurs9]

I thought this kid played slightly wider more Pritchard who I really rate, josh is already involved and is as you say more central, I think Miller is more like a Scott Parker but technically very good.

Maddison has played 1 or 2 games wide but he is a #10.

 

[kursaal]

I was going to give a live update on him from Roots Hall today but he is on the bench. Typical. Southend in control at half time - 2-0. Coventry need him on if he is any good.

 

[ilya]

But this young lad seems to be destined to be top "medicine".

Slow stuff?

 

[Tucker]

Hope we can wrap this up, he sounds like a good talent.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

Looks like he can play LW, Second Striker and CF as well:

So Poch would retrain him as a central defender, then.

 

[Dharmabum]

http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/01/2...-in-tottenham-hotspur-transfer-deal-for-jame/

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/01/2...-in-tottenham-hotspur-transfer-deal-for-jame/

Thanks for the link, but HITC is one clusterfuckery of a news outlet.
Has anyone seen the lad play, or have Coventry mates who might have info on him?

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

We are looking will prob wait till the summer.

Shame if we have decided that, as it would mean other clubs could offer more competition for his signature. Why not do what we did with Alli, and sign the lad up, but let him stay there until the summer?

 

[mark87]

http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/01/2...-in-tottenham-hotspur-transfer-deal-for-jame/

If Chelsea or west ham were linked with him instead of us you can bet your bottom dollar Joe Cole would be encouraging him to sign for them.

 

[sidford]

If Chelsea or west ham were linked with him instead of us you can bet your bottom dollar Joe Cole would be encouraging him to sign for them.

You would imagine that whoever is advising him would be able to see why chelski would be a disaster for a young player & that Spurs are the best option in premier league for any young player who Wants playing time & proper coaching

 

[mark87]

You would imagine that whoever is advising him would be able to see why chelski would be a disaster for a young player & that Spurs are the best option in premier league for any young player who Wants playing time & proper coaching

Absolutely agree, but this is Joe Cole, he only has 3 maybe 4 brain cells at a push so wouldn't be able to see that.

 

[dave5150]

Joe Cole doesn't have time to talk to anyone. As soon as training has finished he has to go find his dad in the car park waiting to drive him back to Essex.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/article4671540.ece (Subscription required)

 

[THFCSPURS19]

We want them this month apparently.

Jack Pitt-Brooke ‏@JackPittBrooke 38m38 minutes ago
Spurs pursuing the *next* Dele Alli, targeting three Football League teenagers. My story in tomorrow's Indy: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/dele-alli-success-leads-tottenham-to-track-three-other-youngsters-a6838101.html…

Jack Pitt-Brooke ‏@JackPittBrooke 35m35 minutes ago
The targets are Moussa Dembele at Fulham, James Maddison at Coventry and Ademola Lookman at Charlton. Like Alli, it's buy now, play later.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/article4676108.ece

Dele Alli effect: why top clubs want players from lower tiers

Rory Smith
Published 1 minute ago
Not long after the final whistle had blown at the Ricoh Arena, David Pleat made a point of seeking out Mark Venus, Coventry City’s director of football. He had brought a special guest to watch Coventry’s 1-1 draw against Walsall and wanted to introduce him.

Pleat has become a familiar face at a host of Sky Bet Football League clubs in recent years, thanks to his role as a sort of roving, informal scout for Tottenham Hotspur. The man with him that night, less so: hence the need for Pleat’s personal touch. Paul Mitchell, the Tottenham head of recruitment, is not a regular in the lower leagues. That he was keen to meet Venus suggests he thinks that might be about to change.

Mitchell and Pleat were not the only scouts in attendance. Newcastle United had also sent a representative to the West Midlands. He was on a top-secret mission. The only clue as to who he might have been working for was the club-issue tracksuit he was wearing. Like the Tottenham delegation — and like the talent-spotters sent to the Ricoh at various points this season by Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton and Manchester City, among others — he was there to watch one player in particular.

James Maddison is a delicately gifted teenage playmaker. A 19-year-old regarded as the next big thing to come out of League One, he has already attracted bids from Tottenham and Southampton. Looking at the feeding frenzy developing around him, it is clear that he is the perfect example of a rising trend in the transfer market: what might be termed the Dele Alli effect.

Over the past six months, however, that trend has almost completely reversed. It is not just the Ricoh that is getting used to accommodating Premier League scouts. Arsenal, for example, have dispatched someone to watch every game played by Ademola Lookman, Charlton Athletic’s 18-year-old striker, but still find themselves behind Tottenham and Everton in the chase for his signature: both clubs are expected to submit bids before the transfer window closes.

Fulham, too, have long been bracing themselves for an offer from Spurs for Moussa Dembélé, their 19-year-old French forward. His contract expires this summer, but the west London club’s transfer embargo means that they may prefer to lose him on a fee set by a tribunal rather than allow him to leave before the transfer deadline on Monday. That is not the only obstacle that Tottenham are facing, however: all their rivals for a Champions League spot stand in the way of their attempt to sign Dembélé.

There are more: Rico Henry, an 18-year-old left back at Walsall who has been watched by Chelsea, among others; Sam Byram has already left Leeds United, for West Ham United rather than Everton, and Lewis Cook and Alex Mowatt may follow him out of Elland Road, with Bournemouth especially keen on the former. Jordan Graham was released by Aston Villa a year ago, but his form at Wolverhampton Wanderers has earned admiration.

There is a consensus among those inundated with ticket requests from Premier League scouts that this sudden enthusiasm for the lower steps of the football pyramid has been driven by Alli’s success at Tottenham. His seamless transition to the Premier League and the England team has convinced the rest of the elite that there is talent away from the spotlight.

After years of exclusively looking abroad, they have remembered that there is an untapped market right under their noses. It is not always cheap — there is a premium on young English talent, exacerbated by the intense competition for the best — but, increasingly, it is where they are looking. Pleat may soon find he has rather more company on those cold nights at the Ricoh.

Teenage kicks

James Maddison (Coventry City)

Age 19

Interested Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Southampton, Everton, Newcastle United

Price £5 million

A product of Coventry’s quietly effective youth system, Maddison is an intelligent playmaker generally deployed as a No 10. He has developed a bond with Joe Cole, the former Chelsea and England player on loan at the Sky Bet League One club from Aston Villa.

Ademola Lookman (Charlton Athletic)

Age 18

Interested Everton, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City

Price £6 million

A powerful forward, his emergence has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise bleak campaign of disappointment and discontent at The Valley. He has two years left on his contract but has been offered improved terms by the Championship club.

Moussa Dembélé (Fulham)

Age 19

Interested Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool

Price £4 million

Fulham are reluctant to let the France Under-20 striker leave in this transfer window, even if his contract expires at the end of the season. The Championship club are under a transfer embargo for transgressing the Football League’s Financial Fair Play regulations and are prepared to allow a fee to be set by a tribunal this summer.

Rico Henry (Walsall)

Age 18

Interested Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Price £4 million

A left back of considerable promise who has won England Under-19 recognition, Henry has helped Walsall challenge for promotion to the Championship this season and the ambitious club have stated that he would only be sold for a premium fee.

 

[Cornpattbuck]

This is a lovely watch (basically, a decade of his development from 7-17):