Gary Lineker praises ‘brilliant’ Spurs midfielder

James Maddison and his recent upturn in form has left many pundits, including Gary Lineker, impressed and hopeful the midfielder can help inspire an improvement of results for Spurs.

The 27-year-old signed for Spurs in a deal worth a reported £40 million last summer.

Maddison started very well but his form wained at the tail end of last season and forced Gareth Southgate to leave him out of his final 26-man England squad for this summer’s Euros in Germany.

However, undeterred by his international omission, Maddison has started the season in much better form and looks to be returning to his best.

Featuring during the Lilywhites’ 3-1 win over Brentford on Saturday, the former Leicester City playmaker put in a top performance and scored his side’s last of the game after 85 minutes.

Danny Murphy and Gary Lineker praise James Maddison

And discussing the Coventry-born midfielder during Saturday night’s Match of the Day on the BBC, pundit Danny Murphy gave his assessment of what was a super individual showing.

“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 said.

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“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 done, and today in this deeper role that Postecoglou 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.”

Presenter and former Spurs striker Lineker then added: “He’s a brilliant player, he really is.”

Maddison’s impressive form will be a huge boost for Ange Postecoglou, who, prior to yesterday’s win over Brentford, had won just one of his first four Premier League games of the season and was beginning to feel the pressure that comes with being a top-flight manager.