Gary Neville has now been sharing his thoughts on the way in which Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison handled his recent England snub.
Having been included in Gareth Southgate’s initial 33-man training squad, Maddison was then cut for the final trimmed down Euro 2024 side.
It was a surprising decision given Maddison’s contributions to England over the qualifying campaign and his rich talent.
But Southgate does have an embarrassment of riches in that regard, demonstrated by the fact that Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is likely to sit on the bench against Serbia on Sunday.
And given Maddison’s diminished form since returning from injury in the new year, the decision is an understandable one – as the Tottenham star admitted himself.
However, when speaking on The Overlap with Wayne Rooney recently, Gary Neville did take umbrage with one decision Maddison made after learning his England fate.
Neville disagreed with Maddison’s decision to leave the England camp early before Friday’s game against Iceland at Wembley.
Gary Neville thinks James Maddison made a real mistake with England departure
Speaking on the podcast, Neville said that Maddison had a ‘duty to be professional’.
He explained: “Why did he leave early? I would have stayed there.
“The reason I would have stayed would probably have been one, there is an element of duty, ultimately you are in it together and I always have this feeling in football that if you are left out.
“And I’m not having a go at Maddison, and different players deal with it in different ways.
“But the reason I would have stayed is I used to get really p——- off as a player if someone went mad that they were left out, because what you are saying is the guy that was picked in front of you isn’t good enough, you think are you are better than him.
READ MORE: Wayne Rooney shares whether he’d have taken James Maddison to Euro 2024
“Which is fine, don’t get me wrong, confidence is good but at least respect the fact the guy that has gone into the team doesn’t need to hear about your problems, he needs your support.
“You have a duty to be professional. The reason I would have stayed secondly is, let’s say Foden got injured somehow in that game.
“I would have wanted to make sure – I think Gareth would have thought I’m going to keep the guy who stayed, I’m not going to pick the guy who has gone home.”
Maddison’s Tottenham form will be crucial
In terms of the decision to cut Maddison from the squad itself, all the Tottenham man can do now is just focus on his club football.
Ange Postecoglou should oversee an exciting summer of signings, ones who can help Maddison return to his best form.
It remains to be seen what will happen with Southgate’s future after the Euros – who doesn’t seem to appreciate Maddison’s skill-set as much as some others.
And perhaps a change in managers, to someone like Graham Potter, could actually work in the Tottenham star’s favour.
All that being said, Tottenham now have the advantage over Manchester United in their pursuit to sign Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri.