Tottenham Hotspur are reeling right now, even as they have quietly been showing credible improvements under manager Roberto De Zerbi. The problem is that Spurs have little to show for their efforts in the Premier League table, as they still sit in 17th following a fourth consecutive game without a goal, drawing Everton 0-0.
Fortunes could change, though, for Spurs, as several key players are working their way back to full fitness, which is a point the manager continues to emphasize to the media core at press conferences. And one of the big returns will be that of James Maddison, who dislocated his shoulder on Matchday 1 against Brentford and still has not started a game for Spurs since tearing his ACL at the end of the 2024/25 season.
De Zerbi, though, isn't just thinking about Maddison as a playmaker in his usual No. 10 role, but before the game against Everton, he told reporters, via Hotspur Lane, that he is considering playing James Maddison as a left winger.
James Maddison makes little sense as an inverted wide playmaker
Now, Tottenham Hotspur did utilize another very talented No. 10 on the wings last season in Xavi Simons, who played frequently as a left winger, including under Roberto De Zerbi at the end of the 2025/26 season before his own ACL tear.
Simons won't be back until some time in 2027, and while Maddison is a great tehcnician and playmaker, using him in that inverted playmaker role like a young, dynamic No. 10 in the Xavi Simons or even Arda Guler of Real Madrid vein does not make much sense.
Especially at this stage of his career after several injuries, including that recent ACL tear, Maddison does not have the speed, explosiveness, and quickness to play out wide as a left winger. And playing him out there takes a more dynamic option like a Savio, Omar Marmoush, or even a Mathys Tel off the table for Tottenham while moving Maddison out of the middle of the pitch where can potentially pull the strings for everyone.
Maddison and Simons may both be playmakers, but they are completely different profiles of player. Simons is better at dribbling, carrying, and exploding past defenders, while Maddison is more technical and more about reading the game with his experience and quality of passing. De Zerbi seems to think Maddison can be an option on the left wing, but it just doesn't make much sense for Spurs to go that route.
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