James Maddison admitted that he was on the receiving end of some banter at Tottenham in the summer, with many questioning if he was waiting for Harry Kane to depart so that he could take the number ten shirt.
Tottenham and Bayern Munich were seemingly locked in talks over a deal for Kane all summer, with the transfer eventually being agreed just before the start of the Premier League season.
As expected, the 31-year-old has taken the Bundesliga by storm and the striker looks to be in with a good chance to end his long wait for silverware this season given Bayern’s impressive start to the campaign and having booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Some may have been surprised by the timing of Kane’s switch, given that he was just 47 goals away from Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal record.
However, Maddison expects the England captain to continue playing until his late thirties and believes he could still return to England in the future to break the record.
(Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
Maddison on taking over Harry Kane’s number ten shirt
The Spurs playmaker told Amazon Prime Video about Kane’s switch to Bayern: “I’m really happy for him to go to a top club. Did I want him to stay? Of course, I did.
“He’s not over-reliant on pace so I could see him playing for years and years and it wouldn’t surprise me if he had his eye on that goal-scoring record in the Prem.”
Maddison has proven to be a worthy heir to Kane’s number ten shirt, with the attacking midfielder taking his game to a new level since his switch to Tottenham prior to his injury.
When asked about taking the number ten shirt, the 26-year-old responded: “It all happened so quick. Me and H had a bit of banter. I was wearing no.71 in pre-season and I was getting a bit of stick.
“We wanted to see and weigh up what number I was going to wear. There was a bit of banter – ‘Madders, are you waiting for Harry to go?’ I would have stayed 71 believe me to keep him!”
Spurs Web Opinion
The fact that Spurs temporarily handed Maddison the number 71 shirt was evidence that the club always expected the Kane deal to eventually go through and for the number ten shirt to become available. Hopefully he can continue where he left off when he returns from his ankle injury.
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