‘Not as good as everyone is making out’… Roy Keane now claims £40m Tottenham player is actually overrated 

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Roy Keane has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison is ‘not as good as everyone is making out’.

Tottenham have been without James Maddison since early November after the midfielder picked up an ankle injury in the 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea.

Spurs’s record without the Englishman speaks for itself as they’ve won four and lost the same number of games while picking up two draws in his absence.

With Maddison in the side, Tottenham won eight, drew two games and lost just once – the defeat to Chelsea where he was replaced early due to an injury.

Of course, there are other factors at play here as Tottenham suffered several injuries to a host of key players around the same time Maddison was sidelined.

Yet, his importance to Ange Postecoglou’s side can’t be understated and they’ve missed his creativity in the middle of the park.

And as Spurs fans look ahead to his possible return next week, Roy Keane has claimed the midfielder is actually overrated.

Keane claims Maddison is overrated

Speaking on The Overlap, Keane claimed that Maddison won’t make a similar impact for Spurs than what the return of Kevin De Bruyne will do for Manchester City.

“I think he is a good player,” Keane told Stick to Football. “Not as good as everyone is making out.

“I like him, I think he’s a good player, but I don’t think he’s like De Bruyne coming back for them.”

De Bruyne is in a league of his own when it comes to creative midfielders. But Maddison was having a similar impact on Postecoglou’s side earlier in the campaign.

The Englishman netted three goals and provided six assists in his first 11 Premier League games for Spurs. His £40 million switch from Leicester City was being dubbed by many as the signing of the season.

While he’s not yet reached the level of De Bruyne, we’d argue that Maddison has been somewhat underrated throughout his career.

He now has the opportunity to prove himself at a big club like Spurs and based on his early performances, he’s ready to prove he belongs at the very top level.