James Maddison has backtracked on his earlier comments about Roy Keane in a clash with Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
Jamie Carragher and James Maddison were embroiled in a hilarious confrontation on Monday after the Liverpool legend asked the Tottenham midfielder who his favorite professional was.
Maddison, 29, spoke to Sky Sports fresh from scoring a goal of the season contender in Spurs’ 3-1 win over Coventry City. The England international, making his first start in 536 days after battling an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, fired a superb first-time shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.
It was an emotional moment as Maddison ran over to celebrate and kissed the Tottenham badge. Maddison, who worked alongside Carragher on Monday Night Football last season, spoke to the Sky Sports pundit after the match.
After talking about his goal and the win for Tottenham, Carragher then reminded Maddison of his earlier comments in which he allegedly told Keane he was his favorite specialist. Carragher said: “James, you mentioned coming on the show, you were a friend of Monday Night Football. So I was a bit surprised when you spoke to Sky Sports this week and said your favorite pundit was Roy Keane!”
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Maddison chuckled before replying, “I knew this was coming. If you’re really looking at it fully, Carra, I said she’s the one I watch the most, but I think your analysis is the best.”
Naming Keane as a favorite pundit to watch comes despite a strained history between the pair.
The Irishman first met Maddison in February 2025 after he claimed Ian Wright was Tottenham’s “missing link”.
Speaking at the time, Keane told The Overlap: “People say Maddison is the man. When is he going to step up? He’s been relegated with Leicester and he’s going to be relegated with Spurs. Maddison’s not bad when he’s not at 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 country. He’s good, he’s a talented player. But if you’re a player in the Spurs dressing room and Maddison is back in the squad, ‘oh Jesus – he’s coming back today. We will be fine.”
Maddison had the last laugh as he scored in Tottenham’s 1-0 Premier League win over United and supported the former United midfielder after Spurs’ Europa League triumph in May 2025.
After Spurs won Europe’s second-tier competition, Maddison said: “I wasn’t going to do any interviews but I heard Roy Keane was in the studio tonight.”
Maddison and Spurs are next in action when they travel to Chelsea on Saturday. They then host Crystal Palace before traveling to Leeds United before the November international break.