Roy Keane slams what he heard about James Maddison – ‘You’re in cuckoo land’
Tottenham could soon welcome James Maddison back from injury after nearly a month out.
The 28-year-old picked up a calf issue in January just days after a positive performance against Hoffenheim in the Europa League.
The England international hasn’t featured since and there may be hope that he could return either against Manchester United or Ipswich Town.
With that being said, Roy Keane isn’t so sure that the attacking midfielder will have the desired impact.
Roy Keane unsure about James Maddison at Tottenham
There is no doubt that injuries have had a damming impact on Ange Postecoglou and his side in North London this campaign.
This has seen his side drop out of the League Cup and FA Cup within the space of a week, losing to Aston Villa on Sunday most recently (9 February).
There is every chance that things could have been so different if the Lilywhites had a fully fit squad available.
Despite this, Keane revealed on the Stick to Football (13 February) that he doesn’t see Maddison having a telling impact on Spurs’ fortunes after his name was mentioned among the players close to returning to fitness.
He said: “Hold on a second, Maddison? We saw Maddison at Tamworth and he got taken off. Tamworth are non-league. People say Maddison is the man, when’s he going to step up to the plate?
“He got relegated with Leicester and probably will get relegated with Spurs. Maddison isn’t bad, but if you think he’s going to come back and get Spurs top six, you’re in cuckoo land.”
James Maddison must prove Roy Keane wrong for Tottenham
The former Norwich City star hasn’t hit the heights expected of him so far this season which has often seen him on the bench under Postecoglou.
As a result, his absence hasn’t been as widely reported as others but has arguably been missed for the Lilywhites.
It looks likely that Destiny Udogie will make his return from injury against Manchester United and Spurs will be hoping that their number 10 will also be back in contention soon.
This will hopefully build momentum for the rest of the season in North London as the N17 outfit look to push further up the Premier League as they currently sit 14th, level on points with Everton.
Although Keane has taken a relegation swipe at Maddison, it feels unlikely with the quality available to Spurs that this will ever become a reality.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the re-introduction of some key players like Maddison can help boost Postecoglou’s side after what has been a difficult few months for the Australian head coach.