Tottenham had concerns about James Maddison this summer, says report

The Daily Mail have reported that those at Tottenham Hotspur were concerned about James Maddison after the heartbreak the midfield suffered having been left out of the Euros squad by Gareth Southgate, for the manager's final tournament in the England hot seat.

Maddison was in Southate's provisional squad and had played in England's first warm-up game against Bosnia & Herzegovina in June, but a couple of days later was told that he would not be part of the final 26-man squad boarding the plane to Germany. The midfielder was public with how sad he was at the news, releasing a long statement on his Instagram page, and claimed he would have offered "something different" to those that were selected.

According to The Daily Mail, those at Spurs were worried about how Maddison would react, to the omission, but have since been impressed by his reaction, who is keen to use the disappointment as fuel.

Tottenham had concerns about James Maddison this summer, says report

They further add that this sort of attitude is exactly what Ange Postecoglu wants from his players, and that the Spurs head coach believes Maddison is "inching towards his best form".

The 27-year-old started the season well, grabbing an assist in both of the opening two games, against former club Leicester City and Everton, particularly playing well against the latter. His performances against Newcastle United and Spurs were disappointing, but he did inject some much-needed life into the game against another of his old clubs, Coventry City - playing a nice ball to Kulusevski in the build-up for Spence's equalising goal.

There was further disappointment for Maddison, as he was not included in the first England squad selected by interim manager Lee Carsley, for games against Ireland and Finland, despite fellow attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham being out with injury. However, hopefully, this is another setback he uses as fuel and motivation to keep improving. There is no doubt he will be further keen to prove Carsley wrong and give himself a chance to be in his plans long term, should he get the job.