Michael Bridges has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso is ‘not on the same level’ as James Maddison.
Speaking on the Optus Sport Football Podcast, Bridges reflected on Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa over the weekend.
Spurs have now suffered three straight defeats in the Premier League as Ange Postecoglou battles with mounting injury problems.
Indeed, James Maddison is just one of many notable absentees as he faces a spell on the sidelines until the new year.
Postecoglou named a makeshift midfield three of Rodrigo Bentancur, Giovani Lo Celso and Dejan Kulusevski against Villa on Sunday.
Both Bentancur and Lo Celso were handed their first starts of the Premier League season, with the latter getting on the scoresheet.
And despite an encouraging display from the Argentine, Bridges feels he’s simply not on Maddison’s level.
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Bridges claims Lo Celso is nowhere near as good as Maddison
Speaking to Optus Sport, Bridges reacted to some analysis comparing Lo Celso to Maddison.
“I’ve got to say, that analysis there with Maddison and Lo Celso,” the pundit said.
“Mate, that’s like comparing Belgian chocolate truffles in Maddison to like a Milky Bar with Lo Celso, they’re not on the same level.”
It’s hard to disagree with Bridges based on Lo Celso’s career at Tottenham so far.
There’s no doubt the midfielder has underachieved since his £27 million switch to Spurs from Real Betis.
Yet, Spurs didn’t exactly struggle in the midfield department on Sunday as they created enough chances to beat Villa comfortably on the day.
Lo Celso also bagged, albeit with the help of a slight deflection off Ezri Konsa.
The 27-year-old certainly doesn’t provide the same efficiency in the final third as Maddison consistently. But he has shown he’s capable of filling that role while Maddison is sidelined.
Postecoglou’s main concerns will undoubtedly lie in defence for the time being after naming a makeshift centre-back duo of Emerson Royal and Ben Davies on Sunday.
Spurs will be without Micky van de Ven until the new year while Cristian Romero will return to action after this weekend’s trip to the Etihad Stadium.