It’s obvious Maddison should be in the England squad knowing this

James Maddison has been lighting up the Premier league for Leicester City this season. After a slow start to the campaign he has been back to his best and remains a threat to any defence when he is on the ball.

There is one statistic in particular that proves just how brilliant the Leicester No.10 is. Since Maddison joined the Foxes in 2018, no one has scored more Premier League goals from outside the box than him.

The Coventry-born midfielder has scored 13 goals from outside the box since joining the East Midlands side. The next best is James Ward-Prowse, who is close behind with 12 goals since the beginning of the 2018/19 season.

The Blue Army have been treated to some truly special goals since Maddison joined the club. It is incredible that a player has the ability to continually score from long-range like he has. Normally when a shot is taken from outside of the penalty area, the goalkeeper is expected to be able to save it, unless it is a brilliant shot. This shows how lucky the Foxes are to have such a talented midfielder that has scored more than a dozen goals from outside the box in less than four seasons.

When you look at all the talented players there are in the Premier League, the LCFC midfielder sits above them all in this stat. The fact that Maddison has continued to prove himself as a threat outside the box for as long as he has is truly remarkable, and yet, it is not good enough for him to get into the England squad. If this was 12 months ago, I could understand him being left out, as the one-time England international was going through one of his worst form slumps of his career.

However, the former Norwich City, has been far and away one of the best English attacking midfielders, and his form this season is surely more than worthy of a Three Lions call up. When you look at the wealth of English talent in this current generation, it is understandable that he may not make every squad, however, upon closer examination of the players that he would be competing with, it is hard to fathom how Maddison is not in the England squad at this point in time.

Maddison has the versatility to play either on the wing, in central midfield, or as an attacking midfielder behind the striker. This season he has 20 goal involvements in 40 appearances, with 13 goals and seven assists to his name.

In comparison, Ward-Prowse has 14 goal involvements this season. The Southampton midfielder has been lauded for his ability to score from outside the box and his efforts have been rewarded with him earning another call-up to the national side.

Yet Maddison, who has been in better form, and performing at a higher standard, cannot get a look in. And the Saint is not the only player that Gareth Southgate has chosen over the Leicester midfielder that perhaps doesn’t warrant a place.

Jack Grealish, who moved to Manchester City from Aston Villa in the summer, has made just the seven goal contributions in 29 games. However, the former Villa captain has kept his place in the side, despite the fact he has had a poor season to date.

The LCFC midfielder has been instrumental to Leicester City’s change of fortunes in 2022, after they had a dismal start to their campaign. His impact to bring others into the game, whilst also creating options for himself, has been overlooked by Southgate yet again.

Having a player who can conjure up, something out of nothing in the way that the 25-year-old does is truly a blessing and the fact he can turn a game on its head in the blink of an eye, surely deserves a call-up to the squad at the very least.

If Maddison continues this brilliant run of form into he next international window, then it would be ludicrous for him to be left out of the squad as the Three Lions prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.