Roy Keane gives brutal assessment of Spurs midfielder | OneFootball

On the latest episode of the stick to football podcast, Manchester United legend Roy Keane has given a typically scathing verdict of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison, which has caused some controversy.

Roy Keane with some harsh words regarding Spurs midfielder James Maddison

Speaking on the podcast, Keane said: "I'm on about [currently injured] players who will have an impact [when they return]. Listen, we saw Maddison at Tamworth, he was taken off. Tamworth are non league. People say Maddison's the man - when's he going to step up to the plate? He got relegated with Leicester - about to get relegated with Spurs!

Maddison isn't bad - when he's not at the Darts - but let me tell you: if you think he's going to come back and get Spurs back and get Spurs top six - you're in cuckoo land!

He's a good player, he's a talented player, but if you're a player in the Spurs dressing room, and Maddison's back in the squad, you wouldn't be looking [around] and going 'oh Jesus he's back today, we're going to be fine!' England had a squad of 300, and he can't even get in that! Don't kid yourselves everybody.

You [Jill Scott] praise every player, it's like [with] Boyzone, you love everybody. I've asked you to name some players [who would make an impact returning from injury], you're naming players who you go 'yeah they're [only] not bad.'

Weirdly, if Keane had made this argument last summer, it would have made more sense, and had more merit to it. This season, it feels harsh. Before injury, Maddison was having a really good season. Although he has not played in the league since the defeat to Everton, he is still Spurs' top scorer in the competition, with eight.

That too, and without his goal and assist against Hoffenheim in the Europa League, Spurs would not be having these two, extremely rare midweeks off. So, it does feel harsh. As someone who has criticised Maddison in the past, it is only fair to say he was having a really good season before the injury.