James Maddison has enjoyed a pretty fruitful and positive debut campaign in Tottenham Hotspur colours.
When he first joined Spurs, there was a lot of expectation and excited hype around the player because of what he can do in the Premier League.
Yes, James Maddison had just suffered relegation with Leicester City and that didn’t look great on his CV because he was one of many players responsible.
But the 27-year-old was still highly regarded and Tottenham fans weren’t surprised when, after ten Premier League matches, they were sitting top of the table and Maddison had three goals and five assists to his name.
It was the perfect start for all involved, but then Ange Postecoglou watched his team suffer a heavy home defeat to Chelsea in November, with brain-fading red cards and injuries galore contributing to that.
Maddison was one of the players who was out for several months and his form massively dipped when he came back.
Jeff Stelling stated that Maddison is ‘one of my favourite players’, whilst Ally McCoist labelled him as ‘different class’, as they told talkSPORT (29/05/24 at 6:10 am).
But ahead of Euro 2024, Stelling is completely changing his mind about the former Norwich City star and the role he can play for Gareth Southgate’s England.
The popular TV presenter stated that three months ago, he was backing the quick-thinking midfielder to start for his country, but now he thinks there is only a place on the bench for the player.
James Maddison’s role for England ahead of Euro 2024
“At his best, James Maddison is one of my favourite players,” said Stelling. “I guess three months ago, I thought he would be a starter at the Euros for England.
“But now, I just wonder how he gets into that starting XI? There are certain starters. There is no question about that, Jude Bellingham is one of them. Declan Rice is another one. They are absolutely nailed on. Harry Kane will start. And Foden will start as well. Cole Palmer is knocking on the door as well, and boy is he knocking hard. A great position for Gareth to be in.”
McCoist responded: “It’s difficult. Very difficult. I totally agree with you. But we both know things can change very, very quickly. I would say James Maddison is a player I really, really enjoy watching when he is on his game. He is different class. I think he is a shoo-in for the squad. But the way things are looking at this moment in time. Deary me! He is probably in the area that’s the toughest. I believe that. Right now, for me, James is on Gareth’s bench.”
James Maddison’s Tottenham form
Tottenham’s final few months didn’t go to plan and their form was very indifferent, including some pretty poor results and performances.
It even resulted in Maddison being dropped by Postecoglou for several matches and that hasn’t helped his cause when it comes to England.
READ MORE: ‘Perplexed’ pundit says Tottenham ‘won’t break top four’ with £8.5m man
Whilst his form dipped, the likes of Cole Palmer just went from strength to strength, including Phil Foden winning the Premier League title.
These are the players the Spurs star is competing with for an England spot and you just can’t see him playing ahead of any of these guys.
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