A top talent at Tottenham way back when, this world-class midfielder would eclipse Maddison’s value.
Are Tottenham Hotspur where Ange Postecoglou wants them to be? Perhaps, actually. The Australian was appointed last summer to rebuild an outfit in ruin, and the framework placed in the months since looks steady and ready for further improvements.
Tottenham are fifth in the Premier League heading into the final stretch of the season but sit just three points behind Aston Villa – who have played an extra fixture – in the top four.
All associated with the London club will hope that silverware, last added to the Tottenham trophy cabinet in 2008, will be clinched under the 58-year-old’s rule, but Ange just wants to see progress and development as a unit, even remarking recently that he wouldn’t be dismayed if his outfit failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Still, it would be nice to return to Europe’s elite club competition, making the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – it really needs a proper name, doesn’t it – a more attractive destination and convincing the top dogs within the squad more likely to stay for the long run.
James Maddison is one such player, having proved himself a bona fide success after completing a £40m transfer from Leicester City last summer and being described as a “nightmare for defenders” by The Times’ Henry Winter.
James Maddison’s season in numbers
Maddison has been a prominent presence in the English top-flight for many campaigns now, winning the FA Cup and Community Shield with Leicester, but it feels like he’s taken his game to the next level in the capital, thriving as the creative fulcrum on Postecoglou’s system.
As per Sofascore, the England international has scored four goals and supplied seven assists across 18 Premier League appearances this season, averaging 2.5 key passes, 1.3 tackles and 1.3 dribbles per game, completing 87% of his passes and winning 57% of his ground duels.
He brings a skill set unseen down N17 since the days of Christian Eriksen at his peak; ranking among the top 7% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 1% for shot-creating actions, the top 10% for passes attempted and the top 2% for progressive passes per 90, as per FBref, he’s clearly one of Europe’s elite No. 10s.
The 27-year-old’s importance to the newly-formed Tottenham system was evidenced when the blitzing start to the season was sent into a spin against Chelsea in November, with an undefeated start ended after a spate of red cards and injuries to Maddison and fellow summer signing Micky van de Ven created a maelstrom of troubles that ended the constancy in results.
That erstwhile consistency is still being fought for now, with the 4-0 thrashing over Aston Villa over a week ago followed by a dismal 3-0 loss at Craven Cottage against Fulham last time out.
And while Maddison flattered to deceive in that one, hooked after 66 minutes, he’s undoubtedly one of the Premier League’s finest midfielders.
Maddison might be Spurs’ joint-most valuable centre-midfielder at the present day (£43m), sharing that honour with exciting rising talent Pape Matar Sarr, according to CIES Football Observatory’s valuation model, there’s a former Lilywhite gem still plying his trade who would eclipse that value.
Indeed, for all of Maddison’s ability, he offers but a fraction of the machine-like style of Luka Modric, who would be worth a pretty penny at Spurs, were his transfer to Real Madrid engineered in contemporary times.
What peak Luka Modric would be worth in 2024
Without a doubt, Modric is one of the finest players of his generation and he didn’t need a Ballon d’Or accolade to rubber-stamp his lasting legacy (although sure, it’s a nice bit of kit to adorn the walls).
A legend at Real Madrid, the Croatian player has completed 521 appearances for the La Liga side and won a horde of major trophies such as five Champions League trophies and three league titles – the latter soon to become four and the continental competition very much attainable for Carlo Ancelotti’s outfit this season.
But after leaving his homeland club Dinamo Zagreb, he cut his teeth in the Premier League with Tottenham, transferring for £15m back in 2008 as a 22-year-old and playing 160 matches before crossing the channel to Spanish shores in a £30m package. Fine business from a Spurs perspective indeed.
| Tottenham: Record Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Sold to | Price |
| 1. | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | £100m |
| 2. | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | £85m |
| 3. | Kyle Walker | Manchester City | £53m |
| 4. | Dimitar Berbatov | Manchester United | £32m |
| 5. | Luka Modric | Real Madrid | £30m |
| Sourced via Football Transfers | |||
This was a relatively sizeable sum back in the day but what if, theoretically, these past movements occurred at the present – is it safe to assume that the Croatia international would eclipse the value of any current Tottenham star?
Thankfully, Totally Money has got it all covered, concluding within its algorithm that Modric would have cost Real a whopping £84m if the transfer happened under Postecoglou’s watch in 2024.
Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe’s top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.
Were Modric some 16 years younger, he might not have left Tottenham for a figure eclipsing the £85m Los Blancos paid for Gareth Bale back in 2013 – a world record at the time – but he would have come pretty close.
The transfer market has bloated considerably over the past few decades and it’s no wonder that teams are starting to get caught up with financial fair play regulations – it’s like a washing machine of obstacles and stipulations that ostensibly favour certain clubs over others.
Still, back to the point. There’s no doubt that the 5 foot 8 Modric would be one of the most expensive central midfielders in the world if the events of way back when played out today.
