How $40m bargain gave Spurs ace ‘new lease of life’; Blues star’s sad stat says it all: PL Talking Pts

PL Wrap: Newcastle hit EIGHT in epic rout; Blues nightmare worsens in 45-year disaster

THE ‘CLEVER, SHARP’ SPURS PARTNERSHIP SENDING SHIVERS DOWN RIVALS’ SPINES

When Harry Kane departed for Bayern Munich in a $AUD169 million deal, there were plenty wondering how Tottenham would function in attack without him.

After all, he scored a staggering 30 league goals last season, an astonishing feat when you factor in Tottenham scored 70 league goals in total.

It meant new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou had a major issue to resolve early into his tenure.

But six games into Tottenham’s 2023/24 league campaign and it looks like Postecoglou has found a solution.

Attacking midfielder James Maddison arrived in north London during the summer and although he will never replicate Kane’s goalscoring feats, he adds something different to Tottenham’s attack.

Crucially, Maddison — who took the No. 10 shirt after Kane’s departure — has formed an outstanding partnership with Tottenham forward and captain Heung-Min Son.

Maddison assisted both of Son’s goals in the north London derby against Arsenal, with the former chalking up four league assists in total while Son is second in the golden boot race with five goals from six games.

The Telegraph’s Jason Burt couldn’t help but marvel at just how well these two have clicked so early into Postecoglou’s tenure.

“Clearly no-one expects Maddison to match the goal output from Kane, no-one apart from Erling Haaland can do that, but his presence in the Tottenham team can certainly elevate Son, who has gained a fresh lease of life and hunger since Kane’s departure and gaining the captaincy,” Burt wrote.

“Sometimes when there is such a huge figure as Kane in a team it can mean there is eventually an over-dependence on him.

“Quickly an understanding has already developed between Son and Maddison and not least because both are not only clever, sharp players but they are also selfless.

“They are on the same wavelength with the way they see the game.”

With the Maddison and Son link-up already blossoming so early in the season, it’s a major warning sign for Tottenham’s Premier League rivals.

$60M STAR ALREADY SUSPENDED AS BLUES’ BILLION-DOLLAR BLUNDER EXPOSED AGAIN

Chelsea fans thought they had hit rock bottom after finishing 12th last season in a miserable campaign that saw four different managers take the reins at Stamford Bridge.

But the Blues look set for another season to forget despite a summer of huge investment, taking the total spent in three transfer windows under the club’s American ownership to over £1 billion ($1.2 billion).

Mauricio Pochettino has won just one of his first six league games in charge and it was a familiar story for the Argentine as his side failed to find the net for the third consecutive game.

A knee injury to Christopher Nkunku that has meant the French forward is yet to play a minute of competitive action for the club has not helped.

But other big money signings such as Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling are failing to pull their weight in front of goal.

In fact, Jackson has already managed to get himself suspended having accrued five yellow cards in just six games.

What’s most concerning is the fact all five of the $60 million man’s yellow cards have come as a result of dissent and were easily avoidable.

It could be the 22-year-old’s inexperience coming to the fore, but it also highlights the frustration among Chelsea’s players at just how poorly they’ve started the season.

Less than 10 days ago, Pochettino claimed Chelsea will be back in European competition next season “for sure.”

That claim is looking more optimistic than realistic with every passing week.

Chelsea sit 14th in the table and face Arsenal, Tottenham, City, Newcastle, Brighton and Manchester United in their next nine games.

ABSURD STAT BEHIND SOARING SEAGULLS’ BLISTERING START

A current glance of the teams at the pointy end of the Premier League will show a number of familiar names.

Manchester City in first, Liverpool in second, Tottenham in fourth and Arsenal in fifth.

But in third place is … Brighton?

Yep, Roberto De Zerbi’s side are flying high with five wins and one loss in six games this season and have scored a league-leading 18 goals in the process.

The latest win came in a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth in which they went behind courtesy of an egregious error from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

What makes Brighton’s fast start even more impressive is the fact they have made 22 changes to their starting lineup this season, more than any of their rivals have.

To compare to this stage last season, Brighton had made only three lineup changes under De Zerbi’s predecessor Graham Potter.

Beating Bournemouth was also an impressive feat given it was just days after they slipped to a surprise 3-2 loss to AEK Athens in their first Europa League group game.

Who knows if Brighton can maintain their blistering start to the season, but there’s plenty to like about what’s going on in Sussex.

PROMOTED TRIO CONTINUE TO FACE COLD, HARSH PL REALITY

Sheffield United suffered their worst ever league defeat as Saudi-backed Newcastle ran riot at Bramall Lane.

But the Blades are not the only club struggling to bridge the financial and quality gap between the Championship and the Premier League.

Burnley and Luton’s promotion parties seem a distant memory as they sit alongside Sheffield United in the bottom three.

After a combined 16 games this season, none of the three have even collected a win, with the trio all having just one point on the board.

Luton were the last to get off the mark as they drew 1-1 with Wolves on Saturday.

But even that felt like a missed opportunity for the Hatters after Wolves played the entire second-half a man down after Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s red card.

Burnley ran Manchester United much closer, but still had nothing to show for a positive performance in their 1-0 defeat.

RED DEVILS VETERAN’S RETURN UNDERLINES WOES DESPITE MUCH-NEEDED VICTORY

It wasn’t pretty and they even started with a centre back who was relegated last season, but Manchester United finally stopped the rot, if only for one game.

A moment of individual brilliance from Red Devils skipper Bruno Fernandes ensured United left Turf Moor with a 1-0 victory over Burnley for just their third win in six Premier League games.

Perhaps it is emblematic of United’s recent woes that Jonny Evans, who had trained with the club in the off-season after leaving Leciester City before signing a one-year contract, was the man who provided the assist.

Or, in a fairer take on the matter, it is because United have a large casualty ward and Evans was one of very few fit and available options for the game.

Both Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez were out injured while Raphael Varane started on the bench before coming on in the 79th minute.

Yet Evans proved himself capable of stepping up to the plate when needed most.

It was the 35-year-old’s first United start since March 2015 and his first assist since February 2013.

Whether it is the first of more to come remains to be seen, which is both a good and bad thing.

Good because it means Evans can still perform at a high level but bad because he is a 35-year-old who was released by Leicester City and had very few takers in the summer.

Again, victory against Burnley was the most important thing for Erik ten Hag’s side, but better performances are needed