'YOU'RE A GEM' James Maddison gives young Tottenham fan ‘memory to last a lifetime’ as England star shows his true colours

CLASSY James Maddison gave a young Tottenham fan a day to remember.

Posted Monday, February 19, 2024 by Thesun.co.uk

The kind-hearted playmaker, 27, took six-year-old Samuel under his wing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

James Maddison walked out at Tottenham with Samuel

The playmaker was praised for his classy act

Players and fans alike applauded the six-year-old

Samuel, who has cerebral palsy, was one of the club's mascots when Wolves made the trip to North London.

Maddison walked out of the tunnel at the back of the Spurs starting XI, holding hands with the kid.

He urged the 62,000-seater stadium to give him a wonderful ovation and the home fans duly obliged with a warm applause.

Earlier on, Maddison met Samuel in the tunnel, shook his hand and gave him a hug.

The five-cap England star chatted to the lad about his "surprise" at the Spurs ground.

Samuel walked a mile unaided for the first time on Boxing Day to raise money for charity.

And Maddison, decked out in his Tottenham tracksuit, said to the young fan: "Mummy sent me your video of you walking. It's amazing.

"You showed so much strength and bravery to be able to walk like that.

"I thought it would be amazing for you to come to the game today and we can walk out together if you'd like to.

"It would be an honour for me and I'd be very grateful. Your walking looks amazing, you're getting really good.

"I normally walk out last so we will have plenty of time and space to walk out, shake hands with the players and clap the fans.

"I've got to go in for a meeting with the manager and I don't want to be late because I'll get told up then after the warm-up we will walk out together."

Maddison then gave Samuel another hug, a high five and a kiss on the cheek before hugging his family members, who were also special guests of the club for the game, which Spurs lost 2-1 thanks to Joao Gomes' double.

Fans of Tottenham and rival clubs hailed the former Leicester man for his brilliant behaviour.

One said: "Absolute class act. Little gestures that go such a long way."

'RESTORED MY FAITH'

Another wrote: "Made me well up."

A third added: "He's great with kids! Gets down on his level, talks to him with respect like a fellow human, explains what's going to happen, encourages him on his progress. Excellent. You're a gem."

A fourth typed: "Absolutely superb and restored my faith in modern football. Well done Spurs and James Maddison."

A fifth replied: "Absolute quality from him, no agenda just genuine class and heart, well done James Maddison."

And a final user commented: "Well done James Maddison and Tottenham that's class, a moment he'll remember for the rest of his life. Why are my eyes leaking."

It is not the first time Maddison has shown his generous and caring side to junior supporters.

While at Norwich, he formed a special bond with Sophie Taylor, a young girl who sadly died aged five from cancer in 2019.

Maddison regularly met up with Sophie, including taking her to Carrow Road and the King Power Stadium, and remains in contact with the Taylor family, raising money for the Sophie Sparkle Fund through his charity golf day.