James Maddison reveals Tuchel talks as Spurs star makes England stance clear
Tottenham star James Maddison is back to full fitness and ready to make a fresh claim for England selection after speaking with new manager Thomas Tuchel
Tottenham star James Maddison is back to full fitness and ready to make a fresh claim for England selection after speaking with new manager Thomas TuchelJames Maddison is back in top condition at Tottenham.
James Maddison has told Thomas Tuchel he is hungry to make a big impact for England.
New boss Tuchel is preparing to name his maiden squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia at Wembley.
And after it was revealed last month that the former Chelsea chief had set up a hotline to stay in regular contact with up to 50 potential call ups, Spurs star Maddison has confirmed they have already spoken on the phone.
The attacking midfielder feels he is back in top shape after suffering from both a calf injury and illness since December. And confident Maddison, who has won only seven caps, believes few of his rivals for a Three Lions place can match his output in the final third.
âHe has touched base,â Maddison said. âI think he was reaching out to a lot of players who would be in the selection, probably quite a big pool of players that the FA have identified.
âI'm hungry to be part of that. I feel like I'm in good form, my numbers are pretty good, there's not too many midfielders who can out-score and out-assist me.
âEspecially now when I'm feeling good as well, feeling sharp. I know I can affect most games. It's just about continuing to do that. Like I always say, if I play at that level for Tottenham, then the rest will take care of itself because I have a really strong self-belief.â
Meanwhile Dara O'Shea is backing "dying breed" Liam Delap to drag Ipswich out of trouble. The Tractor Boys dropped five points behind safety after Saturday's defeat to Tottenham and Wolves ' surprise win at Bournemouth.
But with old-school centre-forward Delap still causing problems, O'Shea insists that belief remains high for a team that had been written off before a ball was kicked.
Liam Delap remains Ipswich's main man. (
Image:
Julian Finney)
"Liam's been a handful for every defender he has come up against this season,â he said. âWe know how good he is, that we need to give him the ball and get him into those positions because he scores goals and has done so well this season.
"Thereâs massive belief in us as a group that heâs going to score goals. He causes problems, teams are probably putting two players on him now which frees up other players too, which is great.
"I know Liam, whatâs he like, and heâs not going to be happy with what heâs got now. He wants more and heâs going to have a great end to the season for us."
Ipswich, who face Manchester United away on Wednesday, felt Spursâ winning margin was not a fair reflection of their performance.
And O'Shea knows their defending for Brennan Johnson's opening was below par. But the Ireland centre-back added: âThe big thing is everyone wrote us off at the start of the season. Weâll keep going. Weâve got a lot of belief in the group that gives us a âWeâll show youâ type thing.
âBut itâs not about showing them, itâs about showing ourselves. Itâs not easy, you get nothing cheap in this league, but weâll just keep pushing and believe.â
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