Ange Postecoglou firing no arrows at darts-loving James Maddison

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has played down talk of a problem with James Maddison after the midfielder spent his Sunday night at the World Darts Championship, having reported ill before the Wolves match.

Maddison made headlines when he was pictured with Spurs attacker Brennan Johnson at Alexandra Palace for the last-16 tie between Luke Humphries and Peter Wright.

He subsequently called a fan on Instagram a "wally" for being critical of his decision to go to the darts, hours after the 2-2 draw with Wolves, where the England international was set to start before being deemed only well enough to be a substitute.

Postecoglou introduced Maddison in the 64th minute but Tottenham conceded late on and dropped more points to fall to 12th in the Premier League ahead of Saturday's lunchtime kick-off with in-form Newcastle.

"Yeah, I’ve got no problem with that," Postecoglou insisted.

"I’ve got no problem with the players having lives. It’s a lot different trying to play a game of football and living a life. I don’t see any problem with that and I don’t think it hurt him.

"He wasn’t 100% and it was a game where we needed someone to be 100%. He was still well enough to play so it wasn’t like he was bed-ridden.

"If he was bed-ridden, didn’t turn up to the game and then still went to the darts, there may be an issue there. But I had no issue with that."

All eyes will be on Maddison for the visit of Newcastle – a club interested in the playmaker when he left Leicester in the summer of 2023.

New England boss Thomas Tuchel will also be in attendance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the experienced midfielder one of a handful on the radar of the German.

While Maddison has eight goals and five assists across 26 appearances this season,