‘Different type of pressure’: BBC pundit suggests 26-year-old could crumble at Tottenham now

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Nigel Reo-Coker has questioned James Maddison’s ability to deal with the pressure of playing for Tottenham Hotspur.

Speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live Football Daily Podcast, the pundit was discussing the arrival of Maddison at Spurs, and while he was excited about the idea of Maddison playing for the north London club, he did have some reservations.

The pundit questioned Maddison’s strength of character, claiming that he doesn’t know whether or not the midfielder will be able to deal with the pressure of playing for a club like Spurs.

Maddison could crumble

Reo-Coker gave his verdict on the 26-year-old.

“Maddison is a great signing, but does he really have that strength of character to understand what it takes to play for Tottenham? It’s a different type of pressure and there is a greater expectation, he’s coming as a difference maker, he has to take them to another level,” Reo-Coker said.

“He is a good signing if he performs week in week out, but my thing is this, does he have the character to handle that kind of pressure. How determined is he going to be to stay fit and stay healthy and perform week in week out.”

Been there, done it

In all honesty, we don’t understand these comments at all.

Certain players do crumble when they head to a huge club, but, with all due respect, Tottenham aren’t Manchester City or Liverpool.

The reality is that James Maddison has been there and done it all before in terms of what Spurs have been trying to achieve.

Let’s not forget, in two of Maddison’s first three seasons at Leicester the Foxes finished above Tottenham as they pushed for a top four spot, while he also won an FA Cup during his time in the East Midlands.

Maddison is more than capable of dealing with playing for a team like Tottenham.