Ange could unleash stunning” Spurs academy gem

Last summer, after years of turgid, uninspiring and unsuccessful football that left fans feeling disconnected from the club, Tottenham Hotspur made a bold choice and appointed Ange Postecoglou as first-team manager.

The Australian had been wildly successful north of the border with Celtic and in Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos, but with no experience in Europe’s top five leagues, it was a massive gamble.

A year and a half on, it would be fair to say that the results have been mixed, as while he’s been able to get his team to play some of the most entertaining football in the country, the same old inconsistencies that plagued his predecessors remain.

Furthermore, his transfers have been mixed, with Micky van de Ven and Brennan Johnson looking like hits, but Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner look less so.

However, one player who doesn’t quite fit into either category is James Maddison, although if he doesn’t start moving into the former, he could see himself eventually replaced by an exceptionally exciting academy gem.

James Maddison’s Spurs career

So, when Spurs paid Leicester City £40m for Maddison in the summer of 2023, there was an expectation that he’d be a huge success in North London.

After all, he’d just scored ten goals and provided nine assists in 32 appearances for a relegated team.

Fortunately, he started his Lilywhites career like a house on fire, as in his first ten league games, the Coventry-born ace scored three goals, provided five assists and looked like one of the best players in the country.

However, after suffering an ankle injury in gameweek 11 that kept him out of action until the end of January, he wasn’t the same dynamic creator when he returned.

For example, in his final 17 league appearances, the 27-year-old scored just one goal, provided four assists, and, as many fans will likely attest, often went missing in challenging games.

This year has been somewhat similar, as while the seven-capped international has a reasonable tally of three goals and four assists in 15 appearances, he’s now lost his place in the starting lineup.

It was against West Ham United that Postecoglou hooked him at half-time, then against Crystal Palace, he was taken off in the 62nd minute when the team were desperate for a goal, and against Aston Villa and Ipswich Town, he played a combined 14 minutes.

There can be no debate over Maddison’s innate talent and ability, but in the season and a half since his move to Spurs, there have been countless occasions in which he’s failed to turn up in big moments, and should he not improve, he could eventually be replaced by one of the club’s most exciting academy talents.

The academy gem who could rival Maddison

So, who is this academy starlet who could prove to be a serious rival for Maddison in a few years?

It’s 16-year-old Lucá Williams-Barnett, who has been utterly sensational for the Lilywhites’ youth sides, and before people claim he’s too young to feature in the first team, he won’t be in a few years, especially as 17-year-old Mikey Moore has already started his first Premier League game for the cub.

With that said, why does he pose a risk to the former Foxes star’s long-term future in the first team?

Well, it’s down to his positional versatility, as while he can play in a few areas of the pitch, his primary role is as an attacking midfielder, which would put him in direct competition with the 27-year-old in a few years.

That said, his output for the junior sides suggests that time may come sooner rather than later, as in just 15 appearances this season, the England U17 star, whom journalist Alasdair Gold described as “stunning”, has scored 11 goals and provided five assists.

That means the “pure talent,” as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, is currently averaging 1.06 goal involvements per appearance.

Finally, Postecoglou already seems to have a high opinion of the young maestro, as he named him in the first-team squad for the Europa League clash against Galatasaray.

Ultimately, it might be a couple of years until we see Williams-Barnett regularly playing for the first team.

However, based on his performances for the junior sides, we can confidently say that Spurs have another sensational talent on their hands, one who should start to worry Maddison.

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