The Leicester midfielder has great technical ability, is willing to take the ball under pressure and brave enough to do so again and again
There is one key figure that England teams of the past have lacked: that player who can take the ball from the defence and pass it forward between the lines, the playmaker who sets the tempo. It can be a difficult position to define at times but you know one when you see him. In James Maddison, we have a man who can fulfil that role for England at this month’s World Cup finals.
I am delighted Maddison is in the squad. He is not the only player at Gareth Southgate’s disposal who can run our midfield – I believe Mason Mount is capable of doing the same – but Maddison gives his manager an excellent alternative. I see the pair of them fulfilling the same role in Qatar. One starting and the other finishing games and sharing the burden of the intensity of tournament football.
Maddison is a player with great technical ability, who can take the ball under pressure and is brave enough to do so again and again. I can tell you that you need to be brave in that position. Our traditional English view of bravery is warriors like Terry Butcher, Paul Ince and John Terry – bodies on the line and bandaged heads. We need to think of bravery in another dimension as well.
Bravery is about making the difficult pass rather than the safe pass. Bravery is about demanding the ball in a tight situation, just a few seconds after you have lost it. I see that bravery in Maddison. People say he is arrogant. I prefer to see it as a certain swagger and if I was a manager I would want to see that swagger in the player whom I asked to do one of the hardest jobs on the pitch.