TalkSPORT pundit Ray Parlour has admitted he feels a player Tottenham Hotspur tried to sign years ago is better than James Maddison.
The 27-year-old made the move to north London in the summer and has shown his ability in an injury-stricken season.
Despite James Maddison’s impressive form, it has now been suggested that Tottenham could have signed a better player years ago.
Who Ray Parlous thinks is better than James Maddison
Maddison returned to Hotspur Way this week, but he did so with the England squad as they prepared for their friendly against Brazil.
The Spurs midfielder got the call-up from Gareth Southgate, but his spot in the starting XI is far from certain with a huge array of talent at the manager’s selection.
Leading up to this summer’s Euros, there will be a lot of room for debate as to who should be starting in the England midfield.
But speaking on TalkSPORT, the former Arsenal man has suggested he would start Jack Grealish ahead of Maddison. Even though he hasn’t been called up for these latest friendlies.
He said: “On his day, on his day, you know who I’d go with… when he’s really at it, Grealish. I might be totally wrong there, but I think Grealish can play in that midfield, track back. What he’s done at Man City where Guardiola wants him to track back and he’s done that really well.”
“There’s so many options out there, you’ve got Maddison and people like that who could step in there as well.”
Back in 2018, Spurs made a £25m attempt to bring Grealish to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from Aston Villa.
What Grealish said about his failed move to Spurs
Years on from the interest shown by the Lilywhites, Grealish became the most expensive British player in history when he made the move to Manchester City.
In that time, Grealish has just about won it all with City having even completed the treble last season under Pep Guardiola.
However, this season has been a little bit trickier for the 28-year-old who has not made a start since the turn of the year.
Back in 2018, Grealish spoke about the failed attempt from Spurs to sign him and admitted he was disappointed it didn’t work out.
He said: “Of course there’s going to be disappointment there. They’ve beaten Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, they’re playing Barcelona in the Champions League next week.
“I felt that if I’d gone there I could have maybe been in the England squad by the end of the year.”
Maddison is now trying to get back up to full fitness after his long-term injury which had him sidelined for a number of months.
And Ange Postecoglou has admitted one of his coaches was recently left fairly disappointed by the 27-year-old’s set pieces.
However, Maddison has had a significantly better season than Grealish and there even has to be question marks as to whether Grealish deserves a spot on the plane in the summer.
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