View: Ange can soon forget about Maddison, 80% 'Revelation' ready to take over

Don Hutchison believes Ange Postecoglou already has his James Maddison replacement ready made at Tottenham.

The 27-year-old has fallen out of favour in North London this season after a string of underwhelming performances.

While a departure in the January transfer window is deemed “very unlikely”, Maddison could very well find himself surplus to requirements at the end of the season, and Hutchison, when speaking to ESPN [19 November, 9:13], believes “revelation” Mikey Moore could be the perfect replacement for the England international.

He said: “Mikey Moore, when you talk revelation to me, revelation to me is finding someone brand new. And I think Mikey Moore – I’ve worked on Tottenham’s European games this season, he’s played a few of them – has been outstanding.

“I spoke to Tim Sherwood and Jermaine Defoe – they reckon he’s the next one to come from their academy. I think if Ange Postecoglou wants to move James Maddison on in the summer, then Mikey Moore can fill his shoes. I think it could be that good.

“So I think revelation is a young player, someone brand new. That’s why I am going from Mikey Moore.”

James Maddison is facing a make-or-break season at Tottenham

It will be a shock Tottenham supporters to find Maddison in such a difficult position at Tottenham only one year after his big-money move from Leicester City.

Last term, injuries plagued his maiden year in North London, but he did continue to produce a stellar campaign, scoring four goals and adding nine assists in 28 Premier League appearances.

However, despite Maddison being on track to better his tally this year, with three goals and three assists in 11 outings, he finds himself on the fringes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and has been snubbed from the starting lineup for the last two matches.

Mikey Moore has enjoyed a remarkable rise to the first team this year, but to mention the youngster as a like-for-like replacement for arguably one of the most creative attacking players in the Premier League is absurd.

Postecoglou handed the 17-year-old his full league debut in the 1-0 loss against Crystal Palace, and he struggled to keep pace with the intensity of the top flight.

At the same time, he is undoubtedly a fantastic prospect for Spurs, but he still has a long way to go before he is ready for regular Premier League football.

Mikey Moore is not ready to replace James Maddison

Maddison averages an 87 per cent pass completion rate with 1.7 key passes and three big chances created [Sofascore]. In contrast, Moore averages an 80 per cent pass-completion rate, including 0.7 key passes, and one big chance was created against weaker opposition in the Europa League.

Not to mention, Maddison is in the top five percentile for chances created, top six percentile for successful dribbles, while his 11 shots on target this season and 3.63 expected assists (xA) is the highest among all Premier League midfielders this year [Fotmob].

He certainly has work to do in the defensive department, winning only 55 per cent of his duels contested. Still, compared to Moore’s 36 per cent win ratio paired with his superiority in every other aspect, the difference between the two is night and day.

But this is to be expected from a seasoned professional and an up-and-coming prospect; the two should not be pitted against each other, particularly in the state Tottenham find themselves in at present, tenth place in the league table.

However, Maddison is growing restless in North London, and Moore could be rewarded with regular minutes for Tottenham should the problem persist throughout the campaign.

He may not be ready to take up the mantle right now, but there’s no doubt he is a superstar in the making and it won’t be long before he is selected regularly – with or without Maddison around.

In other Tottenham news, Spurs will hope Rodrigo Bentancur is successful in his appeal after his Uruguay display.

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