Roy Keane slammed for ‘unprovoked’ and ‘pre-planned’ attack on Tottenham star

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has been slammed for his brutal comments about Tottenham playmaker James Maddison, with a fellow pundit claiming they were “unprovoked” and “pre-planned”.

The Spurs star was heavily criticised by Keane prior to his side’s 1-0 win over United on Sunday, as he claimed the playmaker needed to “step up to the plate” after his return from injury and that the squad wouldn’t be boosted all that much by his comeback.

Speaking on The Overlap podcast, he said: “People say Maddison’s the man. When is he going to step up to the plate? He got relegated with Leicester and he’ll get relegated with Spurs.

“He’s good, he’s a talented player, but if you’re a player in the Spurs dressing room and Maddison’s back in the squad, you wouldn’t be looking and going ‘Oh Jesus, he’s back today, we’re going to be fine.'”

Maddison did provide the perfect response to Keane’s comments though as he tapped in the only goal of the game between two massively under-performing clubs this season. That goal sparked Maddison to perform his trademark darts gesture before putting a finger to his lips clearly in reference to Keane’s comments.

talkSPORT presenter Gabby Agbonlahor was impressed with the Tottenham man for doing his talking on the pitch and hit out at Keane for his harsh remarks, even intimating that they might have been “pre-planned” to cause a social media stir.

“Roy Keane’s comments were unprovoked,’ he told the radio station. “Maddison has had a decent season. Can he do better? Yes he can, but these are unprovoked comments.

“I worked with Roy Keane at Aston Villa. I know his character, what he’s like, and didn’t like it. There’s no need. James Maddison seems like a good lad. Good on him for giving these pundits something back. It just summed Roy Keane up.

“The way the comments were made, it just seemed like it was pre-planned. Let’s say something, if it’s going to go up on social media it’s going to blow up. There’s just no need for it.”

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Maddison answers critics in style

Maddison himself was certainly happy to respond in the best possible way to Keane’s comments, without actually naming the outspoken pundit.

He told Sky Sports: “Just a little bit of outside noise, wasn’t there this week. People have their opinions. I wanted to do my talking on the pitch.

“The gaffer, he always talks about blocking the outside noise but it’s difficult. It’s in your face with social media.

“You see it and it’s there, especially when it’s a high-profile name.”

Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, was just delighted to get Maddison back on the pitch as he welcomed back a few of his injured stars against United – including goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Speaking after the game, the Spurs boss said: “They’re quality players. We have had to do it pretty tough in the past two months. Great to get those guys back and the guys who came on and contributed.

“We can play better definitely, but when we got some boys up to speed and start growing into it.”

Latest Tottenham news: Everton pushing to sign Spurs defensive target / Leeds eye Ben Davies swoop

Everton have shortlisted Tottenham defensive target Maxime Esteve and could pursue a move for the talented centre-back in the summer, according to a report.

Burnley star Esteve has been very impressive in the Championship this season and is a key reason why Scott Parker’s men have gone on an incredible run of 11 games without conceding a goal – a new record for the division.

Spurs are known to have had a deadline-day bid rejected for Esteve in January and now Nixon claims Everton are considering a move, but it’ll cost them ‘£30m-plus.’

Meanwhile, Leeds United plan to bring in defensive reinforcements in the summer and Tottenham centre-back Ben Davies remains on their shortlist, TEAMtalk can reveal.

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