‘He can hold the ball,create chances as well as distributing passes,He is the reason why Arsenal has not fallen yet’: Sam Allardyce says Arsenal have a midfielder who is way more reliable than James Maddison – Not Ødegaard
James Maddison has been utterly brilliant since signing for Tottenham.
The England international has arguably been the best player in the Premier League since joining Spurs, but, frustratingly, some of the issues he had at Leicester City are now starting to rear their heads.
Indeed, Maddison picked up an injury against Chelsea on Monday, and by the sounds of it, he’s been carrying an ankle problem for a little while.
Maddison could be out of action for a spell now, and speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Sam Allardyce has highlighted some of the issues attached to signing a player who is so injury prone.
Allardyce says that someone like Declan Rice will always prove to be a more reliable signing as he’s always capable of playing 35 to 40 games a season whereas you never know how much you’ll get out of Maddison.
Rice more reliable than Maddison
Allardyce gave his verdict on the two north London clubs’ stars.
“He had the same problems at Leicester didn’t he (Maddison)? He didn’t cost much, so he was worth the risk, but then you have a player who is like Declan Rice who is Mr 35 games or Mr 40 games, those are the players you buy first,” Allardyce said.
Best ability
As much as we love Maddison as a player, it has to be said that his injury issues have been a problem for a long time.
As we all know, the best ability in football is availability, and while Maddison can be a gamechanger, he’s of no use to anyone if he’s on the sidelines.
We can only hope that his injury issues will subside, but, sadly, it looks like he could be one of these players that constantly has these issues following him around in the coming years.
