Gareth Southgate and Ange Postecglou agree on James Maddison as Tottenham ace sends message

Tottenham news as James Maddison gets down to work with England in the international break after a stellar start to life at Spurs

For Maddison it is just the fifth time he has been called up by Gareth Southgate but, more importantly, it is the third time in a row. Having gone three years between making his debut in 2019 and being taken to the World Cup in Qatar last year he has cemented himself as one of the key players in the group.

Kane and Maddison are good friends but that bond couldn't keep the club's all-time top scorer in north London for the upcoming campaign, with the new recruit now taking up the mantle. He has so far been integral to play under Ange Postecoglou but it still waiting for a key breakthrough with the Three Lions.

Despite earning a spot in the 26-man squad over the winter he has still only played just three matches for the senior side but is entering his peak years and has been given a vote of confidence over previous Southgate favourites such as Mason Mount in midfield.

Maddison played in two of the last set of friendlies and will be in contention once more to feature when England travel to Ukraine on Saturday and then to Scotland three days later.

He is clearly excited to be back on-board once more as well and has been posting on social media after arriving at the training base."[Location marker emoji] St George's Park [black flag emoji]" he wrote on Instagram on Monday with an image of him coming into the building.

He also posted an image on his story of him making a pass in training, writing: "Straight to it."

"I was delighted. I wouldn’t say I'm surprised, but I'm overjoyed at the footballer I've got. The way he’s embraced the whole club, where he's at in his life. He really wants to be the person.