Revealed: Chelsea cleared the way for marquee Spurs signing loved by Pochettino
Chelsea cleared the path for Tottenham to sign James Maddison because he did not fit the profile of their summer targets, sources have told Football Insider.
Chelsea refused to sign anybody over the age of 25 during the summer as 13 players arrived at Stamford Bridge at a cost of almost £450 million.
The average age of the new arrivals was just 20.5 and the club’s policy meant that proven stars were overlooked.
Mauricio Pochettino is a huge admirer of Maddison, the marquee Spurs summer signing, but his age – 26 – ruled him out as a potential target.
That allowed Tottenham to compete a deal in which their main competition came from Newcastle United.
Spurs ended up paying £40million to Leicester City to secure Maddison’s signature this season, with the former Foxes star putting pen to paper on a five-year deal at Tottenham.
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Maddison has made a superb start to his career in North London, scoring two and assisting twice in his opening five matches for the club.
He was back on the scoresheet for Spurs on Saturday (2 September) afternoon after his goal in the 5-2 win over Burnley.
During his time at Leicester, Maddison boasted an impressive record when it came to goal contributions with 55 goals and 41 assists to his name in 203 total appearances.
Instead of pursuing Maddison, Chelsea strengthened their midfield through the signings of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, who joined the Blues for a combined £173million this season.
