Leicester’s huge yet realistic valuation of James Maddison revealed
According to a prominent media company, Leicester City have set a valuation for their playmaker James Maddison – in case Manchester United come calling.
It didn’t take James Maddison long to catapult himself to promising star status in the Premier League. In 2018/19, a few games after into his top-flight career, clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur – rumoured to be monitoring the then Norwich City man, as Leicester did – must have rued the day they decided not to bid for or pay the relative pittance for which Maddison was sold to the Foxes.
Almost two years ago an undisclosed but alleged £20 million would evidently have bought you a player of this incredible quality. Once athletes of this ilk are proven in elite competition, their fees become astronomical.
Obviously necessity means it is imperative for sides like Leicester City to unearth these gems in lower leagues, as they did with Maddison. That fact is due to funding: although the King Power team has extremely wealthy owners, their budget and global income doesn’t match that of the established big six.
James Maddison’s worth to Leicester City now
Presently all business is uncertain and intangible because of the coronavirus pandemic. Though it is continuously reported that premiership outfits will imminently return to training. However, the official planning as well as inquiring over transfers will still be prevalent.
Especially since debuting for England at international level Maddison is being touted by the media – most likely along with actual major scouts – as a successor to Paul Pogba at Manchester United. Or could he be the difference in the rather creativity deficient Spurs midfield? Yes – according to football gossip in the newspapers.
The supposed cost of a now accepted first-class talent is astonishing: Maddison’s pricetag would be £100 million, per The Athletic via Leicester Mercury. A price that is unlikely to waver the rebuilding and rich Red Devils’ interest in the current Fox.
In this writer’s opinion, that cost would, hypothetically, be acceptable for Leicester. While Maddison is hard to replace at a reasonable amount, he is not irreplaceable. There is even a ready-made replacement in the division, in Jack Grealish.
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If Aston Villa are relegated, his valuation could be as low as £34m, if you trust transfermarkt. Though if the Villans survive the drop they may command up to £80m for their star, say The Mirror. United are apparently also targeting Grealish so it is anyone’s guess how this saga will transpire.