Jamie Carragher believes James Maddison being back on the field is Tottenham‘s only real hope of avoiding Premier League relegation.
Spurs won for the first time in 2026 at the weekend as they defeated bottom side Wolves 1-0 at Molineux through a Joao Palhinha goal.
However, West Ham’s late 2-1 win against Everton at the London Stadium means the gap on safety remains at two points with four games to play.
Maddison has been back among the substitutes for Spurs’ last two games, but he has not played any football this season.
As the England international closes in on his return from injury, Carragher has talked up his importance to Roberto De Zerbi‘s aim of staying up.
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‘James Maddison is Tottenham’s Jarrod Bowen’
De Zerbi revealed ahead of the Wolves game that, despite Maddison being part of Spurs’ matchday squad, he is not yet ready to return to action.
Exactly how far off the playmaker’s return is is not known, but hopefully he plays a part as early as next Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa.
If not there are games against Leeds United, Chelsea and Everton to come over the next few weeks.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher said: “James Maddison, I feel, may have to play a role here in keeping Tottenham up.
“He’s the only one that can do something special, like Jarrod Bowen and Morgan Gibbs-White. He’s coming back from a big injury, so we’re talking 15-20 minutes from the bench.
“But he’s the only one I see when looking at that squad that can produce some magic, particularly in those away games.”
Carragher may just be spot on with what he is saying. Tottenham have definitely improved under De Zerbi, and now have four points from the past six to show for it.
But those moments of individual quality are still lacking. In fairness, Xavi Simons has showed he is capable of it of late, but he will not play again this season.
Maddison can save Tottenham – the stats don’t lie
When it comes to Maddison’s influence at Tottenham, the stats do not lie. As per Sofascore data, he was Spurs’ highest-rated player last season with 7.30.
The 29-year-old scored nine times in the Premier League from an expected goals (xG) value of 5.83, showing he was able to outperform the quality of chances generated for him.
It is not just Maddison scoring goals that Spurs miss, but also his ability to create chances for others.
He registered seven assists in the top flight last time out and 1.3 key passes per 90 minutes. For context, Pedro Porro (1.5) is the only Spurs player who can better than this season.
Maddison has 13 goals and 16 assists overall in a Tottenham kit, on top of 108 chances created, which is something Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and now De Zerbi have each missed.
As Carragher says, getting Maddison on the field for 20 minutes here and there may be all that matters.
That is why De Zerbi has been so eager to get him on the bench, with the Italian knowing the sooner he can release him on the field, the better Spurs’ chances of survival.
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