James Maddison will remember this year at Tottenham for all the wrong reasons.
The England international was sidelined in pre-season with a ruptured ACL, and there is a real chance he may not feature at all this campaign. Mohammed Kudus, who arrived from West Ham and stepped up in Maddison’s absence, has since suffered an injury of his own.
With attacking options rapidly dwindling, Thomas Frank is under pressure to bring in reinforcements before the 2 February deadline. So far, however, much of Tottenham’s early transfer activity has focused on reshuffling loan deals rather than new arrivals.
Despite his absence, Maddison remains a central figure within the Spurs dressing room. Teammates and staff consistently speak highly of him, a reflection of his attitude and influence around the club.
That leadership was evident again with Yang Min-Hyeok. The young forward has joined Coventry City on loan for the rest of the season after his initial move to Portsmouth was ended early by mutual agreement.
Maddison reached out to Yang via Instagram, encouraging him by saying:
“Let’s go, Yang! What a city and what a club — I told you that in pre-season. Good luck, mate.”
Tottenham will be eager to see Maddison return to action, a sentiment echoed by Yang, who responded by calling him a Coventry legend.
Maddison began his professional journey at Coventry, making 42 appearances before a move to Norwich helped launch his career. His goal involvements across clubs tell the story of his rise: 10 at Coventry, 29 at Norwich, 96 at Leicester, and 37 at Tottenham.
After contributing five goals and five assists at Coventry, Maddison went on to establish himself at Leicester and later Spurs. If Yang can come close to achieving similar numbers, he could one day be remembered as a modern Tottenham great.
For now, Yang’s focus will be on helping Coventry push for promotion to the Premier League.
Keep up to date throughout the winter window with our Tottenham transfer tracker, featuring every confirmed deal and expert analysis from our writers.
