Alan Shearer not happy after what manager did to £40m Tottenham player this week

Alan Shearer was not impressed with England manager Gareth Southgate after what he did to Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison on Saturday.

Shearer was speaking on The Rest Is Football Podcast after England’s 1-1 draw with Ukraine.

After years of waiting, James Maddison has finally broken into the England set-up.

During his time at Leicester City, he was playing well in the Premier League but wasn’t doing quite enough to convince Gareth Southgate to call him up.

Maddison was an unused substitute on four occasions before finally making his debut in 2019.

He had to wait more than three years for his next cap and has played three of England’s last four matches.

However, Alan Shearer doesn’t think Maddison is playing in his best position for England.

Instead of featuring through the middle like he does for Tottenham, he’s being shifted onto the left wing.

Maddison’s form for Spurs has meant that he had to start against Ukraine at the weekend.

It’s no surprise he didn’t play his best football when forced to drift out wide.

Shearer unhappy with Maddison’s position for England

Speaking about the Three Lions’s 1-1 draw, Shearer said: “I also don’t think personally it helped him staying on for the full 90 minutes. I don’t think Gareth did him too many favours there.

“It kind of exacerbated the problem. He already had James Maddison playing wide left which is clearly not his position because he wanted to get Henderson in the side in midfield and then to take Maddison off and then to take Bellingham off who scored two late goals in big games for Real Madrid past 90 minutes, I don’t think sometimes Gareth helps himself.”

After his £40m move this summer, Maddison has hit the ground running in North London.

He’s got two goals and two assists already playing through the middle for Tottenham, combining brilliantly with Son Heung-min in particular.

Southgate has to listen to Shearer and give Maddison a chance to play in his best position for England.

He didn’t provide Ben Chilwell with any cover on the left and that ultimately led to Ukraine’s goal.

If Maddison can replicate his club form in an England jersey he’ll be one of the first names on the team sheet.

There will be plenty of England fans clamouring for him to start alongside Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice against Scotland tomorrow.