All the talk around Tottenham Hotspur is rightfully about the 3-0 blowout loss to Brentford at the Gtech Stadium to open up the 2026/26 Premier League campaign, but there is one lingering thread from before the match that needs to be addressed, which is the whopping five captains Roberto De Zerbi named ahead of the season.
The main one will be center back Micky van de Ven, who recently signed a new contract after rebounding on the pitch and changing his tune off it once De Zerbi took charge. There is a great deal of hope that under De Zerbi, Van de Ven can fulfill his world class potential, and he can still hold his head high as he was not at all involved in the embarrassing proceedings against Brentford.
Meanwhile, James Maddison was the player many had thought would be a shoe in to be captain for most of the last year, and there were already many Spurs supporters who wanted him to be the club captain last season over Cristian Romero once he came back from injury.
James Maddison could not be Tottenham captain
Maddison is fully COYS and a thorough Premier League professional who accomplished a lot in this league at Leicester City and has legitimately been a top three player for Spurs since his arrival at N17.
But Roberto De Zerbi had no choice but to snub him for the Tottenham Hotspur captaincy. Not only did Micky van de Ven win first captain over him, but Maddison is actually only going to be the fourth captain. Pedro Porro will be second captain, which is not surprising, and even Ben Davies will be third captain above Maddison in fourth.
James Maddison could not be the first captain simply because De Zerbi does not plan on playing him as much as Van de Ven and Porro, and those two are younger and going to be stars of the future. Maddison many not have many years at Tottenham, and, in fact, he isn't even going to be part of the team's best XI once Xavi Simons returns from his own ACL tear.
Plus, Maddison has been battling back from his own ACL tear and still has not started a game. He has an extensive injury history, and De Zerbi probably knows that he can't rely on him enough to be available every week, which is why healthier plays like Porro and Van de Ven are above him.
That does not explain the Ben Davies case, but his situation requires no explanation. He is such a key leader and pillar of this team that he was even floated as a possible player coach for Tottenham last season before De Zerbi's arrival. Maddison is not as much of the past as Davies, as much of the future as Porro or Van de Ven, as talented as Simons, or as healthy as the rest. He has to settle for fourth, which is still a high honor.
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