The 2024/2025 season was the most prolific goalscoring campaign that Werder Bremen playmaker Romano Schmid (168cm/5’6”, 69kg/152 lbs) has had since joining Die Werderaner from Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC five years ago.
Schmid scored five German Bundesliga goals last term, while he also provided five league assists, his second-best-ever assist tally in the German top flight.
The 25-year-old Austria international has quietly built a solid reputation for himself as a very good playmaker among followers of the German top flight.
James Maddison (175/5’9”, 73kg/160 lbs), meanwhile, is set to miss the majority of the 2025/2026 campaign for Tottenham Hotspur after the playmaker suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in Spurs’ pre-season draw with Newcastle United last weekend.
Reports have stated that Tottenham are set to dip back into the transfer market as a result of Maddison’s injury in a bid to replace the 28-year-old Englishman, with the beginning of the new Premier League season just a week away.
The England midfielder was Spurs’ second-highest goalscorer and second-highest assist provider in the league last season.
His injury will undoubtedly throw a spanner in the works for Thomas Frank’s 2025/2026 preparations; the task of replacing him this late in the window will be no small ask for the North London side’s recruitment department.
Total Football Analysis used data to try and find the best ‘realistic’ Maddison replacement for Spurs.
We landed on the aforementioned Romano Schmid, who Transfermarkt currently values at just €17m, which is €25m less than James Maddison.
Furthermore, reports circulated earlier in the summer linking Schmid with the likes of West Ham United, Aston Villa, and Fulham for a transfer fee of as little as €15m.
His current contract status is a bit unclear, with different German sources seemingly reporting different expiry dates (2026, according to Bild and 2027, according to Kicker).
Either way, Schmid doesn’t seem tied down for the distant future at Weserstadion, and a move seems viable should Spurs see him as a worthy replacement for the injured James Maddison.
Our Romano Schmid scout report and player analysis article shares a breakdown of the Romano Schmid style of play, which made him the best attainable James Maddison replacement on the market right now, for us.
We’ll use data and video analysis to highlight the playmaker’s key strengths and weaknesses and outline why, if the reported price tag is accurate, he could be the steal of the summer.
Romano Schmid Data Analysis & Comparison With James Maddison
First, let’s break down James Maddison’s style of play and profile.
Our pizza chart below helps with that somewhat by providing a data-led overview of the England international’s game.
James Maddison Pizza Chart 2024/2025
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Figure 1 shows James Maddison’s pizza chart for 2024/2025, presenting the playmaker’s performance in key metrics compared to other left central midfielders from Europe’s top-five leagues.
Maddison enjoyed a standout campaign with Spurs last season, nearly maxing out his percentile rank in all attacking metrics on our pizza chart, as well as the ‘Dangerous Passes per 90’ metric.
Maddison also performs well above average in all possession metrics.
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