Ange Postecoglou confirmed that James Maddison is back in the Tottenham squad and “ready to start” the FA Cup match against Manchester City.
Maddison has been out since November with an ankle injury but has now returned to training and could be back for Friday night’s fourth round match.
“News on the team, everyone is fine since the last game. Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] has recovered from his illness,” Postecoglou said.
“The boys had four days off last week, which was good for them.
“After that Madders trained with us, he had a full week of training. He’s in a good place. Ben [Davies] and Dane Scarlett have just come back into the group as well. So the number of players is increasing again.
Paul Merson rejected the claim that James Maddison is a better player than Martin Odegaard.
Merson has been involved in a few Twitter spats recently, most recently talking about Maddison and Odegaard.
The Spurs midfielder has been out for almost three months but was arguably the Premier League’s best player this season before his injury in early November.
The 27-year-old was not only Tottenham’s main creative mainstay but also regularly contributed to the difference in front of goal, scoring three goals and six assists in just 11 Premier League appearances before his injury (Transfermarkt).
Who is better, James Maddison or Martin Odegaard?
Although Odegaard may not have reached the heights he did for most of last season, the Norwegian has still been a key member of Arsenal’s attack this season.
The 25-year-old will have a key role to play if Mikel Arteta’s charges are to reduce their five-point deficit to Liverpool, and Merson has insisted that he would prefer an Arsenal starlet in his squad to Maddison.
It is difficult for fans to be objective in these kinds of discussions. Being a Spurs fan, I certainly wouldn’t swap Maddison for Odegaard, but almost all Arsenal fans will say the same about the Norwegian. The proof will be in the pudding at the end of the season.