James Maddison has not started a game for Tottenham Hotspur since the end of the 2024/25 Premier League season when he tore his ACL, and though he returned to the team months ago down the home stretch of a tense relegation fight, he has still not started a match - not even in the preseason.
And after dislocating his shoulder on Matchday 1 in the second half while coming off the bench in a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of London rivals Brentford, Madders's future is still up in the air. But there is hope he will be back soon with Everton on the horizon.
Tottenham clearly missed Maddison and that playmaking presence against Nottingham Forest, as Sandro Tonali improved alongside a stalwart defense and an even better Rodrigo Bentancur at the base of the Lilywhite midfield. Yet Spurs could not score both due to a combination of poor play from all three of the starting forwards, as well as a lack of any creativity from Conor Gallagher in the No. 10 role, which was, of course, the case against Brentford, too.
Tottenham need to believe in better days ahead
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes hit the nail on the head by saying that Tottenham Hotspur need to play the positive football they should be under Roberto De Zerbi and that James Maddison is a player who will really help them do that.
Scholes said, via Chris Cowlin, “I like him. He is a good footballer. He makes the team play good football, you know what I mean. They need to get him involved somehow. Tottenham is a very negative place at the minute, and it has been for two or three years. If you get two or three wins put together, then all of a sudden you are off and running. I think they will be fine.”
The last part is also very important to Tottenham fans, and that is an assurance from a pundit with ties to another Premier League Big Six club sharing a positive outlook for Spurs. They have only gotten one point in their first three games to start the 2026/27 season without a single goal, and that is "very negative".
Just like how a striker needs that first goal and the rest will flow out of the proverbial ketchup bottle that Cristiano Ronaldo once talked about, Tottenham just need that first win to get the momentum going. Getting their best creator back in the lineup will be huge for that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google