Spanish football great Cesc Fabregas recently lauded an English player who hasn’t quite cracked Gareth Southgate’s starting lineup.
England faced Brazil at Wembley Stadium in a friendly match leading up to the European Championships in Germany this summer.
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Injuries have plagued the English squad ahead of Saturday’s game, potentially opening the door for Tottenham’s James Maddison to prove his worth in Southgate’s trio of midfielders.
Despite Maddison’s status as an occasional choice for England, the esteemed ex-Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea maestro Fabregas spoke on BBC’s Planet Premier League podcast, commending the Tottenham midfielder’s ability to “make things happen” and describing him as a player “you’d always want on your side.”
“Straight away you could feel he’s got the confidence,” Fabregas said.
“He’s got the personality to demand the ball, to make things happen and to create situations. He’s good at dribbling, he is good at assisting and he can score goals. So he’s a really complete player in my opinion.
“He has a good understanding with Son and the strikers and for me, he’s a fantastic player to have.
“And as a coach, I’m sure that you need to adapt to the strengths of your players and the better quality they have, the easier it is. And definitely, he is one of them you would always want in your team.”
Bur, Fabregas did admit he had doubts over Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou’s high-risk and daring play style.
“It is brave and you need to trust your players a lot,” Fabregas said. “But for me you are not under control because you are basically reacting, you are not proactive. You are reacting to their movements, you are reacting to whatever the striker wants to do.
“If he comes deep, I come with him. If he goes attacking the space, I go with him. I’m not a big fan of this because as I said, you are not in control of the situation. He’s dictating the play for you.
“I like to dictate my play and I like to take the defence. If the ball is covered, then I can press. If the ball is uncovered then my defenders need to drop a little bit.”
