Long-time Tottenham Hotspur target, James Maddison has been priced at £25m by Championship outfit, Norwich City. The 21-year-old has caught the eyes of a host of Premier League sides who would like to make the leap and sign this promising second division starlet.
Maddison started his professional career with Coventry City before earning himself a move to Carrow Road on 1st February 2016. His contract with the Championship side is set to run till the summer of 2019.
Maddison’s impressive 14 goals and 10 assists tally this season has broken waves all throughout the country with almost every Premier League side peering in to watch him dazzle the crowd.
The Coventry-born attacking midfielder is supremely talented with a strong right foot. Standing at 5 feet 9 inches, Maddison’s shiftiness to get into the tight spaces around the box makes him a huge threat to opposition defenders. He is also an expert from dead-ball scenarios and is capable of working his magic from close distance free kicks.
The youngster had to work his way up to the first team even after the move and spent a short loan spell with Scottish Premiership side, Aberdeen. Maddison impressed in the loan spell enough to earn a call back to the Norwich side in January 2017.
He is best suited to the number ten role and has been blessed with the vision to find a teammate up front. But this is a potential misfit in the Tottenham Hotspur lineup because the position is currently occupied by a joint force of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.
The Spurs frontline also has Harry Kane and Heung Son-min whose positions are currently unthreatened due to their impressive performances in recent times. All four are confirmed starters with Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela sometimes chipping in sporadically.
Maddison is progressing at a meteoric rate in the Championship and it is due to the regular minutes he is receiving under Daniel Farke. The attacking midfielder has appeared in 41 games this season which totals up to 3,483 minutes – the type of preference he might not receive under Mauricio Pochettino.
It would be a shame for us to see another promising England youth international to make an ambitious attempt for the big leagues and somehow fade through the ranks due to a lack of development.
A youngster’s best asset is playing time and Maddison should think long and hard before making the switch to North London club.
