Brighton and Hove Albion’s assistant Andrea Maldera spoke out about his admiration for the ‘quality’ James Maddison ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
After building up his fitness during that midweek thriller with Brentford, James Maddison really announced his return to the top-flight stage when Tottenham Hotspur travelled to Everton last time out.
Combining beautifully with the in-form Richarlison, it was like he’d never been away. On only his second Premier League start since picking up that long-term injury in November, Maddison wasted no time in doing what he does better than almost anyone in the game, drifting into pockets of space, pulling defenders out of position and splitting the backline with his surgeon’s scalpel through balls.
Tottenham welcome Brighton to North London
And Maldera, performing pre-match duties with head coach Roberto de Zerbi absent after dental surgery, admits that Brighton will likely have their work cut out attempting to keep Maddison quiet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Saturday’s early kick-off.
“We like how (Ange Postecoglou) moves the players. The full-backs and midfielders, the rotation of the players. They have quality players like Maddison, who is very smart on the pitch,” Maldera tells BBC Sport.
“He knows and understands football. Postecoglou has given them a lot of new ideas and I think it is no surprise that they are doing well this season.”
Spurs welcome back Son and Bissouma
Brighton hammered Spurs 4-2 back in December. But the man who scored twice for The Seagulls on that post-Christmas evening – the prolific Joao Pedro – will be missing for the return fixture after suffering a hamstring injury. It also remains to be seen if Kaoru Mitoma will have a part to play, having only recently returned from representing Japan at the Asian Cup.
Postecoglou, in contrast, insists that Heung-Min Son and Yves Bissouma will ‘definitely’ be available for the home side, both back in England after their own international exploits (Football London).
Tottenham can go above Aston Villa in the Champions League positions with a win, with Unai Emery’s side hosting Manchester United on Sunday.
Read also; Move over Duran: Aston Villa may have the ideal Watkins heir in teen “goal machine” –
