Tottenham could hijack Arsenal as Liverpool star among three mooted Maddison replacements

August 5, 2025
2:51 am

Tottenham could move for one of three playmakers after James Maddison suffered what looks like a serious knee injury in pre-season.

The Spurs star was stretchered off in tears in the second half of their 1-1 draw with Newcastle, with manager Thomas Frank revealing that the “bad injury” was to the same knee that sidelined the England international at the end of last season.

With Maddison set for a lengthy absence, Frank and Tottenham are now even more desperate than before to land a new attacking midfielder, having failed in their bid to pinch Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest earlier in the window.

talkSPORT’s transfer expert Alex Crook picked three players Spurs could look to explore moves for to fill in for Maddison; the first being Manchester City’s Jack Grealish.

“Jack Grealish was a topic of conversation at Spurs at the start of the summer,” Crook said, adding that “it went quite quiet” after that supposed initial interest, presumably because they set their sights on Gibbs-White.

Tottenham were also linked with Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze before Arsenal stated their interest, and could come back in for the 27-year-old as a result of Maddison’s injury.

Crook said: “I think when Arsenal came to the table, Tottenham retreated because they feared that they would be hijacked by their north London rivals.”

And Crook also named Harvey Elliott as a possible Spurs addition, believing him to be “a very Thomas Frank-type signing”.

“The other name I’d keep an eye on when it comes to Spurs actually is Harvey Elliott at Liverpool,” Crook added.

“He’s another player that Liverpool are willing to cash in on, he had a brilliant summer leading the England Under-21s to European Championship glory.

“He won’t be cheap, I think the asking price is about £40million, maybe north of that. But obviously, they were willing to pay £60m for Gibbs-White.

“And he just strikes me, Harvey Elliott, as a very Thomas Frank-type signing.”

MORE ON TOTTENHAM FROM F365:
👉 Son Heung-min leaves Spurs a statue-worthy legend who did two things Kane couldn’t
👉 Man Utd eye Tottenham hijack after Sesko snub as Red Devils ‘put £26m on the table’ for Barcelona star
👉 Tottenham ‘make move’ with ‘most serious’ interest in signing Barcelona star who ‘fits the bill’

Meanwhile, Spurs have reached an agreement with LAFC for the transfer of Son Heung-min, who leaves the club with 173 goals and 101 assists in 454 games.

“Before we start the press conference I wanted to say I have decided to leave the club this summer,” Son said on Saturday. “Respectfully, the club is helping me with this decision.

“It was the most difficult decision I have made in my career. Such amazing memories. It was so hard to make the decision.

“I need a new environment to push myself. I need a little bit of change – 10 years is a long time. I came to north London as a kid, 23 years old, such a young age. I leave this club as a grown man, a very proud man.”