Why James Maddison wore No.71 on Tottenham debut as fans share Harry Kane transfer theory
All eyes were on James Maddison as he made his Tottenham debut in a pre-season friendly against West Ham - a matter of weeks since he signed for Spurs from Leicester
James Maddison was handed the no.71 shirt for Tottenham’s game against West Ham
Tottenham fans were left baffled after James Maddison was handed the no.71 shirt for his debut against West Ham on Tuesday.
The North Londoners are in Australia for their pre-season tour and suffered a defeat to their Premier League rivals. Danny Ings and Divin Mubama gave the Hammers a two goal lead and, despite Giovani Lo Celso and Destiny Udugie pulling Spurs back into the game, Gianluca Scamacca secured a victory for David Moyes’ side.
Maddison, 26, was named in Ange Postecoglou’s first XI as Spurs boss following his £40m switch from Leicester last month. Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp made up a dynamic midfield-three, with Manor Solomon, Dejan Kulusevski and Harry Kane starting up front.
Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguillon and new goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario were also chosen by Postecoglou for their opening pre-season friendly. There was no place for Heung min-Son, while Richarlison, Lo Celso and Pierre Emile-Hojberg were among the substitutes.
But all the attention was on Maddison for his debut - and eagled-eyed Spurs supporters spotted Maddison’s shirt number before the team was announced. A photo was posted from the official Tottenham Twitter account which showed Maddison’s shirt in the dressing room, with the no.71 on the back.
Many Tottenham fans could not believe what they were seeing, but Spurs had said a couple of days ago that the new signings were going to wear temporary numbers before they take their actual ones. Fellow new arrival Soloman was handed the no.72 shirt, while Vicario, who signed from Empoli, wore no.13.
Despite Tottenham’s statement on Friday, one Spurs fan claimed that Maddison could be in fact biding his time for his favoured No.10 should Kane decide to leave Tottenham this summer. N17_Acky said: “Can’t help but notice Maddison 71, hope it’s not a sign he’s waiting for 10…”
James Maddison in action during the pre-season clash (
Image:
Alex Morton/Tottenham Hotspur FC/REX/Shutterstock)
Kane’s future is still up the air despite returning to Tottenham ahead of their pre-season tour in Australia. The 29-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich as Thomas Tuchel’s side plot a move for the forward, who has one year left on his contract in north London.
Bayern aren’t the only side interested in Kane. Paris Saint-Germain have stepped up their interests for Kane as Luis Enrique tries to bolster their forward line following the departure of Lionel Messi. But according to the Daily Mail, Kane does not want to join PSG and is focused on getting a move to Bayern over the line.
The German side have already made two bids for the striker, but Levy is holding out for £100million despite Kane having less than 12 months remaining on his current deal. Postecoglou was asked about Kane in his pre-match press conference Down Under but didn’t give much away on his future.
He said: “I had a good chat with Harry. It was nothing earth-shattering as people are seeking.
“Just a good chat, introduced myself, and we spoke mainly about the club, where it’s at and where he thinks can improve. It’s not a specific vision for one person, it’s about the group and we’re perfectly aligned on that - we want to see a successful team this year.”
