Tottenham have new transfer priority after James Maddison injury nightmare | OneFootball

Losing the midfielder leaves Thomas Frank short of creative options

Maddison suffered a ‘bad’ knee injury against Newcastle on Sunday

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James Maddison’s injury marred Heung-min Son’s Tottenham farewell.

Maddison immediately put his head in his hands, was visibly distressed and left the stadium on crutches. He will be assessed back in England but looks to be facing another spell out.

His latest injury is a nightmare for Spurs, who were already short of creative options given Dejan Kulusevski is injured and they and missed out on signing Morgan Gibbs-White.

Maddison missed the end of last season with a knee injury and Thomas Frank said the injury was the same knee

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Maddison and Kulusevski were their go-to creative outlets under Ange Postecoglou and Frank now faces a big headache ahead of the new season.

Maddison’s injury shines a light on the failed move for Gibbs-White, who looked set to join but Spurs failed to active his release clause he signed a new contract at Nottingham Forest.

Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr and Archie Gray are all young midfielders with bright futures, but none are a proven, reliable source of creativity.

Bergvall has shown glimpses of attacking verve but not enough to suggest he is the answer to the problems at the tip of midfield just yet. Gray and Sarr are deeper-lying midfielders.

Maddison is facing another spell on the sidelines

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There will be more onus on the likes of new signing Mohammed Kudus and Brennan Johnson to produce from wide positions.

But Spurs could be forced back into the transfer market in the final month of the window.

The influence of Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard, who hit double figures for assists in the Premier League last season, highlights how integral a creative midfielder is to Frank.

This is not an issue Spurs can ignore.

Despite a positive start to life under Frank which has included an impressive pre-season win over Arsenal, Spurs now have a big problem to address ahead of the new season.