Mikey Moore might actually be the heir to James Maddison

Mikey Moore's loan to Bundesliga side FC Koln will be one of the underrated storylines of the season that Tottenham Hotspur supporters have to follow with great interest, and the young England international, who is banging home the goals at the international level, has already worked his way into the starting lineup for the iconic Billygoats.

But instead of starting on the left wing - and thankfully instead of starting on the right wing, which is where Spurs were fitting him in during the preseason and start of the Premier League campaign - Moore has been back in the middle again as an attacking midfielder.

While Moore is mostly thought of as a winger, though he has certainly made it clear that he is not a right-sided winger, a lot of Tottenham fans who have followed him since he was a wee prospect have felt that his best position is in the attacking midfield. Moore thrives more as a playmaker in tighter spaces and can score more goals when feeling out the game from central areas, whereas he doesn't quite have the athleticism and robustness to be a winger at the Premier League level.

Tottenham are having problems at the 10 this season

Tottenham Hotspur would have thought that attacking midfield would be one of their strengths this season, but it's actually been their biggest weakness. Aside from Savio, nobody is averaging more than a key pass per game, and their main No. 10 option has been Mateus Fernandes, whose respectable performances in an unfamiliar role have naturally faded.

As Spurs await the return of James Maddison to the starting lineup since 2025 when he tore his ACL with both Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert on the shelf for longer with torn ACLs, Mikey Moore is coming off back-to-back games with three dribbles completed in his Bundesliga starts as an attacking midfielder while putting up two key passes in 45 minutes in his Bundesliga debut against unsung giants Stuttgart.

While Moore has been seen as future competition on the left wing, perhaps it is more fitting to think of the 19-year-old attacker as the heir to James Maddison. While they are not similar players in the sense that Maddison is more technical and more of a creative passer, that's not to say Moore can't develop into a better chance creator or that Moore can't create chances.

But Moore can step in to that No. 10 role as an alternative to Xavi Simons in the future, causing danger with his dribbling, instincts to get into scoring positions, and, yes, creativity, affecting games more in tight spaces and in the middle of the pitch instead of being shunned to the periphery. His profile as an athlete and as a footballer is more of a 10, and if he takes off in this role as the Bundesliga season continues, he could be coming back as the one groomed to be Maddison's successor.

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