Tottenham told to address ‘aggressive’ James Maddison after what he did v Nottingham Forest
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou should “absolutely” speak to James Maddison following an off-the-ball incident against Nottingham Forest, according to Alan Hutton.
Spurs climbed above Aston Villa and back into the top four of the Premier League with an impressive 3-1 win over Nuno Espirito Santo’s side on Sunday (7 April) thanks to second-half goals from Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro.
However, the Forest boss felt Postecoglou’s side should have been reduced to 10 men after Maddison got into an altercation with Ryan Yates in the first half where the England international appeared to hit the midfielder.
While Hutton thinks Postecoglou should attempt to calm down the midfielder, he has admitted that the 27-year-old’s “aggressive” style is what makes him such a force at the heart of this current Spurs side.
“I think it just comes from frustration, to be honest with you,” Hutton told Tottenham News.
“He’s that type of player, he just wants the ball and he’s always getting these kind of niggly fouls and it can be difficult for him. I don’t really think you can take that out of his game, because then he becomes a different type of player.
“We spoke about it when [Alfredo] Morelos was like that [at Rangers], he played on the line. He was obviously a little bit worse than Maddison but I think they need that bit of aggression within their game. Can you talk to him? Absolutely, but you want them to be up for it and aggressive in everything they do.
“You understand that these players are playmakers, everything is going to come through them and you need to stop them so as a player you would get annoyed with the constant fouls.
“You can’t turn, you can’t play the pass that you want because your heels are getting clipped and this is happening and that is happening. But I think sometimes you need to keep a lid on it, even though it can be difficult.”
Will Tottenham and James Maddison qualify for the Champions League under Ange Postecoglou?
As Hutton suggests, it is Maddison’s aggressive edge that separates him from several other midfielders in the Premier League as the Englishman is not afraid to get stuck in with defenders both in and out of possession.
However, he has to know when and where to get involved with players as his lapses of judgment could cost his side in the race for the top four. He got away with it against Forest, but he might not be as lucky next time out.
Hopefully, the 27-year-old will have learnt his lesson following Sunday’s win and will not make the same mistake in the future as officials will be watching him closely from now until the end of the season.
In other Tottenham news, teams will already be watching Micky van de Ven ahead of the summer transfer window
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