Maddison Returns as Tottenham Prepares for Brentford Clash
Tottenham’s final pre-season run-out of the summer arrives with a familiar backdrop: key names missing, questions swirling, and a manager trying to stitch together something close to a Premier League XI.
Yet at Hotspur Way on Sunday, behind closed doors and less than 24 hours after a 3-0 win over Hoffenheim at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there is at least one clear positive. James Maddison is back.
Maddison returns, Fernandes finally starts
Roberto De Zerbi has shuffled his pack for this second meeting with the Bundesliga side, and Maddison’s name on the teamsheet jumps out immediately. This is his first appearance of pre-season, his return delayed by an unspecified issue that followed his recovery from the anterior cruciate ligament injury which wrecked most of last season.
He starts here, asked to find rhythm quickly with Brentford away looming next weekend.
Alongside him, another expensive piece of Tottenham’s rebuild finally steps onto the pitch from the first whistle. Mateus Fernandes, the £85million signing from West Ham, also starts after a stop-start summer in which a minor calf problem limited his involvement on the club’s tour of New Zealand and Australia.
For Spurs fans, both names are more than just welcome. They are essential.
Midfield options boosted, defence patched together
The spine of the side looks stronger on paper than it has at any point in this pre-season. Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr both return to the midfield against Hoffenheim in Enfield, adding bite and control in the centre of the pitch.
On the left, Brazilian full-back Souza also comes back in. Signed in January and already the subject of speculation over a move away from north London, he now has a chance to remind everyone why Tottenham brought him in the first place.
At the back, Kevin Danso lines up again, still under the spotlight after his red card shortly after coming on as a substitute in that dramatic 2-1 win over Chelsea in Sydney earlier this month. Veteran Ben Davies offers experience alongside him, a steadying presence in a back line that has barely resembled full strength all summer.
Brandon Austin starts in goal, with De Zerbi again leaning on youth around his senior core. Talented youngsters Luca Williams-Barnett, Tye Hall and Damola Ajayi all get the nod from the off, while the bench includes highly-rated 15-year-old goalkeeper Mikel Jack, a name the club clearly wants to fast-track through its system.
Big absences linger before Brentford
For all the encouraging returns, the list of absentees still casts a long shadow over Tottenham’s preparations.
Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie remain out and, more worrying for supporters, have not played a single minute of pre-season. With the Premier League opener at Brentford just days away, the absence of the first-choice left-sided pairing in defence is a glaring concern.
Up front, Dominic Solanke is also missing again. He has not featured since playing 45 minutes against Chelsea on August 1 in his second summer outing. Tottenham will want their new striker fully sharp, but the clock is ticking.
Mohammed Kudus is another key figure not yet ready to return, despite re-joining training after recovering from a serious quad injury. His creativity and goal threat remain theoretical for now rather than tangible on the pitch.
Dejan Kulusevski has also been back in training after a knee injury that has kept him out since May 2025, but his comeback is still some way off. Tottenham will not rush him.
Pedro Porro, meanwhile, has not featured at all in pre-season. The right-back only returned from an extended break earlier this week after Spain’s World Cup triumph, leaving De Zerbi to manage his minutes carefully as the competitive action approaches.
Final tune-up, lingering questions
Saturday’s 3-0 win, lit up by Mikey Moore’s standout display, offered a glimpse of the attacking verve De Zerbi wants to unleash this season. Sunday’s quieter, closed-doors rematch with Hoffenheim is more about fitness, structure and survival of the squad’s fragile limbs.
Maddison and Fernandes starting is a step in the right direction. Bentancur and Sarr back in the fold gives the midfield real depth again. But with Van de Ven, Udogie, Solanke, Kudus, Kulusevski and Porro all at various stages of absence or reintegration, Tottenham head into the final week before Brentford with as many doubts as answers.
The pre-season friendlies are almost done. The real scrutiny starts next weekend.
