Has James Maddison done enough for England recall? | OneFootball

Last summer, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison was left out of Gareth Southgate's final squad as England manager for the European Championships - after struggling to discover form upon his return from injury last season, something he even noted himself.

After Southgate put an end to his eight year stint as England manager, just two days after the tournament. Subsequently, U21 manager Lee Carsley was appointed interim manager, with the remit of three camps, and six nations league games. Despite numerous drop outs in that time - Maddison was not included in any of the squads.

However, with Thomas Tuchel since appointed manager - you would assume that everybody has a clean slate. So the question is - has the Spurs midfielder done enough to be named in his first squad next month?

Has Spurs midfielder James Maddison done enough for an England recall next month?

This season - perhaps quietly - Maddison has scored nine goals in the Premier League. The only English midfielder that can better that is Cole Palmer - with 14. Even then, three of those goals were penalties, and that is with over 800 more minutes than the Spurs midfielder.

The only other English players to score more than the 28-year old are Ollie Watkins and Liam Delap - two strikers - and he has more non penalty goals than Delap. He has also scored two more league goals than Jude Bellingham.

On top of these goals, he also has five assists - the latest of which came against Ipswich Town on Saturday, where he showed absolutely sublime footwork before assisting Djed Spence - showing a player really high on confidence.

Sure, stats aren't everything - and there are other things to consider in football. England also have a lot of depth in midfield areas, with a lot of quality players. However, how many players would you have above Maddison at the moment?

Form is not the only thing to consider. It's actually a pet hate when people think it is. For example, Argentina wouldn't have ever started an in form Maxi Rodriguez over an out of form Lionel Messi. You do have to look at a player's general level too.

That being said - aside from Jude Bellingham, whom feels like a non negotiable - are there any other attacking midfielders that could be above Maddison, regardless of form? Wouldn't say so when it comes to Phil Foden. Morgan Rogers is very talented, an exceptional ball carrier - but not him either.

The same applies for Morgan Gibbs-White, then who else is there? Although a different type of player, wouldn't have Conor Gallagher over Maddison. The consistently linked to Spurs, Angel Gomes, is better deeper.

This excellent season from the midfielder has also come whilst being tasked to play deeper, with more responsibility both in build up and defensively, yet it has has no negative impact on him, and in fact, has seemed to make him even better.

So, the overall verdict feels pretty clear - Maddison definitely deserves an England call up next month. As we often say, from a selfish point of view, you'd be happy for him to get two weeks of rest - but a call would definitely be merited, and we know he is a confidence player - so may well do him a lot of good.