Pundit believes Tottenham's James Maddison is going under the radar
By Tom Vinall
In Saturday's win over Brentford, Spurs midfielder James Maddison produced his best performance since his injury with a fantastic all-round performance that was capped off with a goal to seal a much-needed victory.
Playing as a left side 'number eight', Maddison was given license to drop deep into the pockets and dictate the game, managing to play through and around the Brentford press and open up the pitch for Spurs to create chances.
Those at Spurs believe the 27-year-old is using the disappointment of being left out of England's Euros squad as fuel to kick on this season, despite initial fears at how he would be when he reported back for pre-season training.
Pundit believes Tottenham's James Maddison is going under the radar
Danny Murphy was a pundit on Match of the Day on Saturday night, and singled the Englishman out for praise in his analysis of the win: “I did pick him out because he was the best player on the pitch. Some sections of the media or people have questioned his start to the season, and I think that’s because Tottenham have started poorly.
He has started this season very similar to the beginning of the last. He was the best player on the opening day at Leicester. Against Everton, he was superb when they won.
Against Newcastle, he helped them dominate the game for long periods and probably should have won, and today in this deeper role that Postecoglu has put him in, as a central midfielder, Kulusevski ahead of him, he was absolutely outstanding.
He is always brave, goes and gets the ball under pressure, and he’s always positive with his passing. And so many times he set them on the attack because he takes responsibility.” Gary Lineker then agreed, adding: “He’s a brilliant player, he really is.”
It was a really encouraging week for Maddison, who first helped turn the tie around against former club Coventry City in the Carabao Cup, before his aforementioned superb performance against Brentford. Next week, Lee Carsley will announce his second squad as interim England manager, let's see if Maddison has done enough to be selected.