‘He was sublime’: Joe Cole blown away by ‘brilliant’ Tottenham player tonight, sends message to Ange Postecoglou | OneFootball

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways in the Premier League on Sunday evening, and Joe Cole was raving about one Spurs player in particular.

Tottenham hammered Southampton 5-0 away from home at St. Mary’s Stadium. James Maddison was the star of the show.

Maddison started as the central attacking midfielder for Tottenham in a 4-2-3-1 formation against the Saints. The Tottenham and England international playmaker scored two goals.

The 28-year-old former Leicester City star found the back of the net in the first minute and then again in first-half injury time.

Joe Cole praises Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison

Former Chelsea midfielder Cole was hugely impressed with the performance of Maddison and urged Tottenham head coach Postecoglou to find a way to make him play well consistently.

Cole said about Maddison in the 77th minute of the match on TNT Sports 1: “He was sublime, he was brilliant.

“You know what? Every time I watch Tottenham play well, James Maddison plays well. I think that’s something to note.

“He has come under fire a little bit, you know, his performances have maybe dropped a little bit, maybe he is carrying a knock. But whenever he does it, he makes Tottenham tick.

“And I think that’s one thing Ange should be looking at – ‘How do we make James Maddison happy? How do we make him content and enjoy his football?’ Because everything goes through him on the pitch. He was brilliant today.”

Maddison could be a big player for Tottenham this season

Maddison has not had the best of times for Tottenham this season, but he turned on the style against Southampton.

According to WhoScored, the playmaker took three shots of which two ended in goal. He also played two key passes.

Maddison had a pass accuracy of 85.4% and took 62 touches. The attacking midfielder attempted three dribbles and made one tackle. He put in four crosses as well.

Tottenham, who failed to win against Rangers in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening, are still very much in the race for the Premier League top four this season. If the North London club are to end up in the UEFA Champions League places, then Maddison will have to maintain a high level on a consistent basis.

Maddison has scored five goals and given five assists in 21 matches in all competitions for Tottenham so far this season.