Chelsea and Manchester City are reportedly interested in securing the transfer of Leicester City’s English attacking midfielder James Maddison in the summer.
According to a report from Spanish publication Fichajes, Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester City have set their sights on a move for Leicester City playmaker James Maddison in the upcoming transfer window.
Maddison has been with Leicester since 2018, having signed from Norwich City. Since arriving from the EFL Championship, the 24-year-old has made huge strides, firmly establishing himself as one of the top attacking midfielders in the Premier League, on the back of which he even managed to break into the England national team.
Maddison has been one of the key protagonists behind Leicester’s rise to prominence under Brendan Rodgers and has once again enjoyed an impressive campaign in 2020/21, producing a return of 11 goals and 10 assists from 39 matches across all competitions. His development at the King Power Stadium, it seems, hasn’t gone unnoticed with two of the biggest clubs in the land, Chelsea and Manchester City, taking an interest.
Chelsea already have a stockpile of attacking midfielders at their disposal, with Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz while both Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic have also been used in similar roles by manager Thomas Tuchel in his 3-4-2-1 setup. Furthermore, the Blues will welcome back the likes of Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley from their loan spells, which will only add more options.
However, there is no guarantee over the long-term futures of the returning loanees at Stamford Bridge while Ziyech himself has been linked with an exit after a difficult start to life in London. Plus, with Tuchel looking at Havertz as an option for the No. 9 role, there could be room made for another attacking midfielder, should a player of Maddison’s quality become available.
Manchester City, meanwhile, have two of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League at their disposal in Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden. However, the latter has been used more and more on the flanks by Pep Guardiola, which could become his permanent position amid doubts over the future of Raheem Sterling, who has seen his importance wane of late.
Three potential destinations for Raheem Sterling | THT Opinions
With De Bruyne also having had issues with injuries over the course of the campaign, bringing in another top-quality operator to support him and enhance the quality of the team would make sense for the newly-crowned Premier League champions. To that end, they have previously been linked with a move for Aston Villa skipper Jack Grealish while Maddison has now emerged as a target as well.
Maddison signed a new contract with Leicester only last year, extending his stay at the club till 2024. However, the report claims that the one-time capped England international is valued at €60 million, which would be well within the means of both Chelsea and Manchester City. It now remains to be seen if either club does make an attempt to land the 24-year-old this summer.
