Stephen Warnock thinks ‘there is a myth’ that Tottenham Hotspur playmaker James Maddison ‘doesn’t work hard enough’.
Gareth Southgate’s England are set to face Ukraine in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Saturday, with Warnock wanting James Maddison to start in midfield alongside Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice.
The former left-back thinks that Maddison is ‘working harder than anyone’ under Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham, whilst he has been ‘outstanding’ this season, as he told The Football Show on Sky Sports.
From the 26-year-old’s four Premier League games, he has scored two and assisted the same amount as Spurs start the new campaign under their new boss unbeaten – Tottenham fans will love Bukayo Saka’s two-word message about the player.
In terms of form, alongside the likes of Bellingham and Rice, who also made big-money summer transfers, there aren’t many who have better than Maddison.
But will Southgate, who has come under pressure for the players he has picked for his latest England squad, start the former Leicester City man in midfield against Ukraine at the weekend?
‘Mixed messages’ from Gareth Southgate
“My big thing is that we get mixed messages from the manager (Gareth Southgate),” said Warnock. “So, the manager says, if you are performing in the league, your levels are high, then you are going to play and you will get opportunities.
“James Maddison has been outstanding so far this season. Deserves to start for England. But we know (Southgate) is loyal towards other players in Kalvin Phillips and Harry Maguire getting into the squad without getting minutes, so I am a little bit torn on what Gareth Southgate is going to do.
“Personally, I think he has to play behind Harry Kane. I think what you are asking Harry Kane to do is stay between the goalposts and do what he does best. You take away that burden of being the creator and the goalscorer. James Maddison’s vision is unbelievable. His positional sense of what is around him.
“I think there is a myth around him that he doesn’t work hard enough. You see under Postecoglou, he is working harder than most of the other players. Also that feeling of being a vice-captain to Son. We have seen him wear the captain’s armband already. He has matured so much during the last two or three years. He deserves to start.”
Maddison is everything that Spurs fans wanted
For years, the Tottenham faithful have been crying out for Christian Eriksen to be replaced, so you can imagine that when Maddison walked through the doors, there were a lot of expectations on his shoulders.
And, so far, he isn’t meeting them, but probably blowing them all out of the water because he is more than what Spurs fans have wanted.
It could even be argued that, with the departure of Harry Kane, Maddison has also filled that void with his presence and own performances.
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