Tottenham Hotspur are increasingly being confronted with a harsh truth about James Maddison, which had to have already been in the back of their minds coming into the 2026/27 Premier League season. As good as he is and as important as he is to Tottenham, the fact that he is so important but so rarely healthy and available to start and complete consecutive games is a huge problem.
It speaks to how badly Spurs need a playmaker to consolidate the midfield and attack, bridging both as a primary creative force for a starved and highly underperforming attack while also being a crucial supplementary scoring option for said attack.
Xavi Simons is the main starting No. 10 and will be coming off an ACL tear of his own. Once he and fellow young gun Wilson Odobert return this winter, there will be a way for Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham Hotspur to divest from Maddison. At the same time, though, Odobert is more of a role player, and Simons, as great as he is, isn't a pure creator profile.
Morgan Gibbs-White is the man for the job
Tottenham can sign an upgrade in the winter, someone Premier League proven who can stay healthy and score goals, create chances, and also replace the backup No. 10 in the rotation down the line after the 2026/27 season ends in Conor Gallagher.
Spurs definitely have a use for James Maddison, but he is never healthy. And they have a use for Gallagher, but at his age and with his wages and now the opportunity to sell him to Crystal Palace or another mid level Premier League club with the player rehbabing his value, they have a unique opportunity they can't pass up on to sell him after the season ends.
For Tottenham, the clear best way to replace and upgrade these two is to go for Morgan Gibbs-White, who scored 15 goals last season and was one of the best players in the Premier League. And once again, the Nottingham Forest star is one of the best players in the league this year, and even with fewer goals, his all around play is even better.
Tottenham Hotspur were supposed to have signed MGW last season on a deal for his release clause, but Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis complained enough to the league and Daniel Levy was so passive that the deal was effectively blocked. But with Spurs desperate for a fully fit, scoring No. 10 who can dynamically add to this team, if Roberto De Zerbi, who has so much more pull than Thomas Frank did, pushes relentlessly, there is no reason why Tottenham can't get Gibbs-White to force his way out as a player who can score, run, defend, pass, and do it all on and off the ball.
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