James Maddison has been hailed as a “complete player” by one of the Premier League's ’s greatest creators - but the
Tottenham star looks set to remain a fringe member of Gareth Southgate's
England squad heading towards the European Championship. Cesc Fabregas, speaking to the BBC's Planet
Premier League podcast, believes Maddison has “the personality… to make things happen” and has become a player “you would always want in your team.” Yet despite an impressive first season for Champions League-chasing Spurs, the ex-Leicester City player remains outside of the national team’s strongest XI owing to the depth of options available to Southgate. England face
Brazil tonight and
Belgium on Tuesday at Wembley as players look to stake a final claim for inclusion when the tournament arrives in June. Watch the Premier League title race with the best Sky Sports deals Ex-Premier League star lifts lid on football's staggering £1bn bankruptcy crisis And Fabregas has given Maddison heaps of praise for his performances at Spurs. “Straight away you could feel he’s got the confidence,” the former
Arsenal and
Chelsea star said. “He’s got the personality to demand the ball, to make things happen and to create situations. He’s good at dribbling, he is good at assisting and he can score goals. So he’s a really complete player in my opinion. “He has a good understanding with Son and the strikers and for me he’s a fantastic player to have. And as a coach I’m sure that you need to adapt to the strengths of your players and the better quality they have, the easier it is. And definitely he is one of them you would always want in your team.” However Fabregas did go on to raise his doubts over Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou’s daring style of play, with the
World Cup winner suggesting that it is too high risk to push defenders so high. James Maddison during Tottenham's defeat away to Fulham last weekend. “It is brave and you need to trust your players a lot,” Fabregas said. “But for me you are not under control because you are basically reacting, you are not proactive. You are reacting to their movements, you are reacting to whatever the striker wants to do. “If he comes deep, I come with him. If he goes attacking the space, I go with him. I’m not a big fan of this because as I said, you are not in control of the situation. He’s dictating the play for you. “I like to dictate my play and I like to take the defence. If the ball is covered, then I can press. If the ball is uncovered then my defenders need to drop a little bit.” Join our new
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