Maddison admits he loves playing with ‘forward-thinking’ Spurs teammate

James Maddison is loving playing in Tottenham’s new-look midfield this season, claiming that the Lilywhites now have a ‘nice balance’ in the middle of the park.

Postecoglou’s tactical tweak

Unlike last season, where Maddison was playing as a number ten in front of two box-to-box midfielders, the 27-year-old is now operating in a slightly deeper role.

Ange Postecoglou has decided to use the England international alongside Dejan Kulusevski as the two number eights, with Rodrigo Bentancur as the number six.

That has allowed Maddison to drop deep and influence games much more while his central midfielder partner, Kulusevski, is also coming into his own.

Maddison loves playing alongside Kulusevski

The former Leicester City man confessed that it is a ‘pleasure’ to play with the Swede, given his attacking instincts and his energy levels.

Maddison praised Kulusevski for his recent display at Old Trafford and suggested that the 24-year-old’s running power has added more balance to Tottenham’s midfield.

When asked if the former Juve man’s move to the middle has reduced his own creative burden, Maddison told Football.London: “He’s a forward-thinking player, played a lot as a winger. He’s a top footballer with a top mentality and one of the fittest geezers I’ve seen in my life. It’s nice to play with him, very attacking and I love it.

“He’s a creative player but it’s not like I felt responsibility to be the only creative player in the team. The way we play we kind of create from all different situations with our philosophy.

“He’s a brilliant player, at Old Trafford he really grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, driving us forward. He’s so good at carrying the ball. There’s a really nice balance in there at the minute. It’s a pleasure to play alongside him, especially when he’s like that.”

Effect on full-backs

The fact that Spurs are now playing with two number eights, who both have the room to drop deep or take up advanced positions, has influenced how Tottenham’s full-backs play.

Both Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie are not inverting as much as they did at times last season, with the Spaniard and Italian often staying wide during the build-up phase.

One has to say that this change has been positive for Spurs, who are looking more threatening going forward while also conceding fewer chances than they did last season.

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