‘Unprovoked’ – Roy Keane slammed as James Maddison confirms cheeky dig was aimed at Man United legend

Gabby Agbonlahor called out Roy Keane for his ‘unprovoked’ attack on James Maddison.

The Tottenham star had been in Keane’s firing line during an episode of The Overlap – only for Maddison to respond in the best way possible.

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Keane had said: “We saw Maddison at Tamworth [in FA Cup third round], he was taken off. Tamworth are non league.

“People say Maddison’s the man. When is he going to step up to the plate? He got relegated with Leicester and he’ll get relegated with Spurs.”

Taking a swipe at his visit to Alexandra Palace to watch the PDC World Darts Championship, Keane added: “Maddison isn’t bad, when he’s not at the darts.

“But let me tell you, If you think he’s going to come back and get Spurs into the top six, you’re in cuckoo land. He’s good, he’s a talented player.

“But if you’re a player in the Spurs dressing room and Maddison’s back in the squad, you wouldn’t be looking and going, ‘Oh Jesus – he’s back today. We’re going to be fine.’

“England have a squad of 300 and he can’t even get in that. You kid yourselves everybody.”

Maddison then went on to score the only goal of the game in the 13th minute as Spurs recorded a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Maddison, who missed the last five matches in all competitions with a calf knock, was the first to react to Andre Onana’s parried save after the Red Devils goalkeeper kept out Lucas Bergvall’s effort.

And the delight was there for all to see on his face after he tucked home into an empty net, where he proceeded to do the ‘shush’ celebration towards the camera.

Fans immediately knew who those comments were aimed at and Maddison himself all-but confirmed it after the game.

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When asked if it was aimed at Keane, he said: “Just a little bit of outside noise.

“People have their opinions and I just wanted to do my talking on the pitch and I hope there’s a certain few who enjoyed me being the match-winner today.”

Maddison added: “No one’s more critical of myself than me. The gaffer always talks about blocking the outside noise but sometimes you can’t miss it, it’s constantly in your face.”

“With social media, WhatsApp, people sending you stuff. You do see it and it is there especially when it’s a big name.

“But it’s about responding in the right way and I was the match-winner.”

After the game, Maddison then posted the clip from The Overlap on social media.

Former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor ripped into Keane on talkSPORT on Monday morning.

He said: “Roy Keane’s comments were unprovoked. Maddison has had a decent season. Can he do better? Yes he can, but these are unprovoked comments. 

“I worked with Roy Keane at Aston Villa. I know his character, what he’s like, and didn’t like it. There’s no need. 

“James Maddison seems like a good lad. Good on him for giving these pundits something back. It just summed Roy Keane up.

“The way the comments were made, it just seemed like it was pre-planned. Let’s say something, if it’s going to go up on social media it’s going to blow up. There’s just no need for it.”

Maddison’s close-range strike against United is his ninth top-flight goal this season – the most from any player in the Spurs dressing room.

And in what is his 13th outing against the Red Devils, he has finally got on the score sheet against them for the first time.

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