Should Leicester City cash in on James Maddison?: FoL’s opinion
By Nathan Wong
James Maddison’s 2020/21 Leicester City campaign can be compared to a sandwich, where the bread is stale but there’s also a tasty filling. An indifferent start due to injury was followed by a purple patch around the Christmas period with Maddison bringing cheer to Foxes fans amidst a third lockdown. His quest to convince Gareth Southgate was sadly cut short by injury, sustained against Aston Villa just as he was hitting his stride.
Unfortunately, Maddison failed to recapture his form upon returning from injury. His ill-judged involvement in the ill-fated COVID house party did little to endear himself to Foxes fans, especially after the expectation he had placed on himself with his interviews. Therefore, it’s a shame that a positive middle of the season has been bookended by indifferent form as well as off-the-pitch issues.
It’s time to go
Undoubtedly, James Maddison has been an excellent signing for Leicester City, but all good things must come to an end. After his poor run of form, where he failed to register a goal involvement after February, LCFC may be wise to cash in. Not only has Maddison displayed inconsistent form and fitness this season, but his attitude can be questioned after the diabolical COVID party. It’s worth mentioning he wasn’t the only one that should be criticised. Nevertheless, after everything he had said, Maddison disappointed people the most.
Maddison’s set-pieces have been compared to David Beckham at times, which seems laughable given his record last season. Leicester fans have probably lost count of the number of corners hitting the first man. Whilst free-kicks are Maddison’s speciality, he only scored one last season, with this being a fortunate free-kick against Liverpool. For a player of his talent, he has certainly underwhelmed in this department, although it hasn’t been for the want of trying.
As repeated many times over, Leicester still need to sign at least three players (LB, RW, CB) of first-team quality. The sale of Maddison which would need to be in the range of £60-70m to be sanctioned, would certainly allow quality reinvestment in all three areas. Whilst LCFC fans may not like this fact, the harsh reality is that the Foxes model requires player sales to aid the long-term progression of the club.