Spurs eyeing £10m Maddison partner who's "Champions League level"

Spurs eyeing £10m Maddison partner who’s “Champions League level”

Tottenham Hotspur have been active in the January transfer market and added centre-back Radu Dragusin and former Chelsea forward Timo Werner to the fold.

Ange Postecoglou is still eager to sign a midfielder this month and could now be lining up a move for a Championship star, with this young buck targetted to counter the current absences of Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr, who are both on international duty at the African Cup of Nations.

Spurs’ pursuit of a midfielder

While Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher has been the No. 1 target to strengthen the midfield for some time now, the 23-year-old is valued at £50m and protracted discussions are understood to have now collapsed.

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With this in mind, it appears Tottenham’s interest in Blackburn Rovers midfielder Adam Wharton – as reported by Sports Lens – might have some substance, with the outlet claiming that the Lancashire outfit would do business for just £10m this month.

Adam Wharton’s style of play

Wharton, aged 19, has already completed 50 senior appearances for Blackburn and has established himself as one of the Championship’s most “complete” midfielders, according to talent scout Jacek Kulig.

This season, as per Sofascore, the ace has played 25 times in the second tier, scoring once and providing three assists, completing 84% of his passes, succeeding with 67% of his dribbles and averaging 1.4 key passes, 2.4 tackles, 5.4 ball recoveries and 4.8 duels per game.

Evidently, he offers a rounded approach to his craft and one that fits the bill or what Postecoglou is searching for to strengthen his side further, having even been described as a “Champions League level” talent in possession, as per Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson.

There are stylistic similarities to Sarr, who has burst into prominence this year following some impressive cameos last season, and this might leave the Senegalese sensation watching over his back.

Sarr ranks among the top 9% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shots taken, the top 10% for assists, the top 17% for pass completion and the top 19% for progressive passes per 90, as per FBref.

Wharton, meanwhile, ranks among the top 20% of positional peers across divisions similar to the Championship for progressive passes, the top 22% for tackles and the top 18% for interceptions per 90, and while Sarr is more effective in attacking sequences, Wharton need not worry about that aspect of his game.

This is because he could serve the industrious role in the centre of the engine room to perfection, with playmaking machine James Maddison operating as the conduit between the thirds up ahead.

Signed from relegated Leicester City for £40m in the summer, the Spurs sensation won August’s Premier League Player of the Month after an electric introduction to life in London.

Injury has kept him sidelined since November but Maddison bagged three goals and five assists from just 11 outings and even led pundit Jermaine Jenas to remark that he’s “on the verge of being a world-class talent.”

With such elite creativity, Wharton would be able to sparkle in standing firm in the middle of the pitch and shine with his multi-faceted approach, winning possession, driving the ball up the pitch and placing it into Maddison’s clutch, where havoc could then be wreaked.