James Maddison has admitted that the pre-season tour to Australia and Asia is crucial to helping him and the other new signings integrate into the squad ahead of the new season.
Tottenham jetted off to Australia on Friday ahead of their first official pre-season friendly against West Ham United at Perth’s Optus Stadium on July 18.
Spurs then fly to South-East Asia, with the Lilywhites taking on Leicester City at the Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok on 23 July and finally round off that leg of the tour with a clash against Singaporean side Lion City Sailors, at the Singapore National Stadium on 26 July.
Ange Postecoglou and Spurs then face Shakhtar Donetsk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 6 before finishing their pre-season preparations with a clash against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on August 8.
James Maddison is looking forward to Spurs start
Maddison admitted that being away as a group will help the newcomers bed into the new environment.
The midfielder told the club’s official website: “A pre-season tour is very important for a new player and the current players to almost integrate them and have that connection.
“I don’t think that will be difficult. We’ve a great group here, I know a lot of the players anyway and, having played against them, you get a feel for the type of character they are.
“It’s an important time for bedding into the squad, for new signings, especially the foreign signings.
“That time away where you’re with each other constantly, so you get to know each other’s personal lives and stuff like that.
“That can all be important for team morale which normally leads to better success on the pitch. So, yes, it’s an important time.”
The 26-year-old also remarked that there is a buzz around N17 as the club embarks on a new era under Postecoglou.
He added: “Spurs is going to go in a different direction with a new manager, a couple of signings already, I feel a hunger about the place and I’m ready to get going. You come here and you get a feel for the club, everything about it, and it feels brilliant.”
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Given the huge squad that Tottenham have travelled with, it is clear that Postecoglou wants to give everyone a clean slate and make up his own mind on a few players.
The next couple of weeks will be quite fascinating as it will become clearer from who features in the pre-season games just what the Australian’s plans are ahead of the new campaign.