Tottenham Hotspur transfer targets: Four potential options who could fill James Maddison

Tottenham Hotspur are facing a major creative crisis heading into the 2025-26 campaign following James Maddison suffering an ACL injury just 12 minutes after entering the pitch during their pre-season clash with Newcastle United.

The attacking midfielder has been plagued with injury during his time at Spurs, including missing out on last season’s Europa League final with a knee injury, and Maddison’s latest setback looks set to rule him out for the majority of the season.

Tottenham had already been looking for reinforcements in that area, missing out on the signing of Morgan Gibbs-White earlier in the summer, and with Dejan Kulusevski also set to miss the first weeks of the campaign, the club are expected to delve back into the market.

Thomas Frank confirmed that intention following Maddison’s injury, saying that his side are “definitely in the market”, and here, Sports Mole takes a look at four stars who could fill the Maddison-shaped void.

Nico Paz (Como)

Paz came through the youth academy at Real Madrid before making the permanent move to Serie A side Como last summer, and the Argentinian enjoyed a breakout campaign for the newly promoted side.

The attacking midfielder scored six and assisted eight goals in 35 league appearances, helping Como to record a superb 10th-placed finish in their first season back in the top flight since 2002-03.

Paz’s biggest strength is his dribbling ability, ranking in the top 10% of Serie A wingers and attacking midfielders for successful dribbles per 90 minutes, while he also takes a large number of shots, with his 3.68 per 90 ranking him among the top 3%.

The Argentinian would also offer Frank with plenty of versatility and tactical flexibility, as Paz featured everywhere from striker, winger, attacking midfield, central midfield and even as a wing-back at times for Como last term.

Tottenham hold a firm interest in the Como player, with reports suggesting they have even had an initial bid rejected for the 20-year-old.

Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)

Eze has been heavily linked with a move away from Crystal Palace this summer, with reports suggesting Arsenal are particularly interested in the midfielder, though Spurs did also have an interest earlier in the window and may revive their pursuit given Maddison’s ACL setback.

At 27 years old, Eze is a proven Premier League talent entering the prime years of his career, and he is coming into the 2025-26 campaign off the back of his best ever individual season, tallying 14 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, including the only goal in Palace’s monumental FA Cup victory over Manchester City.

Similarly to Paz, Eze is a shot-dominant attacking midfielder who averaged 3.53 shots per 90 in the Premier League last season, while he also completed an impressive 2.32 dribbles and creating 2.01 chances per 90 minutes.

While Eze could cost upwards of £60m, stealing his signature from under their North London rivals noses and adding one of the best creative midfielders in the country to their squad could be worth every penny.

Jack Grealish (Manchester City)

Grealish is understood to be seeking a move away from Manchester City this summer after a particularly difficult period at the club, including making just seven league starts across the last two seasons.

While his opportunities have been limited for Man City in recent years, Grealish is one of the most talented players in the division, as evidenced by the Citizens paying £100m for his services back in 2021, and if given the chance, the attacking midfielder could flourish once again.

Grealish provides a different option to Paz and Eze, as the Man City man prefers to take his time on the ball before threading through a teammate rather than taking a shot, with his best goalscoring season coming in 2019-20 when he scored eight Premier League goals.

Despite playing just 715 league minutes last term, Grealish created a massive 3.02 chances per 90 – ranking in the top 2% of players in his position – and this could be ideal for Tottenham as they look to supply their more goal-hungry players, such as Dominic Solanke, Mathys Tel and even Brennan Johnson.

Manchester City are reportedly asking for £50m for a permanent deal, while they are also supposedly open to a loan move for the midfielder.

Bilal El Khannouss (Leicester City)

Another player that Tottenham held interest in earlier in the window, El Khannouss would serve as an interesting and certainly more affordable option than the other players on this list.

Despite playing for a Leicester City side that accumulated just 25 points as they were relegated from the Premier League last season, the attacking midfielder still managed to catch the eye of several top clubs, with Arsenal and Spurs among those that were supposedly looking at the player earlier in the window.

El Khannouss managed two goals and three assists in 32 Premier League appearances, but the 21-year-old showed the potential that he could become a far greater contributor, especially if he was playing for a team that were more dominant of possession.

With Tottenham looking to improve in this area of the pitch, there could even be room for El Khannouss to be signed alongside another attacking option thanks to his expectedly lower price tag.

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