Brighton And Hove Albion seem to have joined in on the race to sign highly-rated Championship playmaker, James Maddison. The Seagulls had dispatched their scouts to watch the 21-year-old take the pitch against Queens Park Rangers in the weekend’s 4-1 win over Norwich City.
Maddison has been prolific for the Canaries this campaign, apparent from the Young Player Of The Season nomination he just received along with being named in the Championship Team Of 2017/18 season.
He has already racked up a neat goal tally of 14 for the season along with 10 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions. He is a perfect fit for the number 10 position mostly due to his remarkable technical and playmaking abilities. He is also an expert from dead-ball scenarios and is capable of working his magic from close distance free kicks.
Maddison embarked on his footballing career with Coventry City before earning himself a move to Carrow Road on 1st February 2016. His will be entering the last year of his contract with the Championship outfit after this season and that might help drive the price a bit lower for Brighton.
He quite deservedly has drawn the eyes of plenty and is ready to take the next step into his playing career. However, the £25m price tag Norwich has set for the player might prove to be unaffordable for Chris Hughton’s side. And it is expected to rise with all the Premier League big guns taking a major interest in the Englishman.
The Sussex-based outfit has already spent over £50m in the last 2 transfer windows and among them is Pascal Groß, who plays in the exact same position as Maddison. Hughton also has Davy Propper and Beram Kayal in the midfield position along with Jose Izquierdo and Anthony Knockaert as wide options.
Maddison’s arrival will either force either one of them to take a secondary rotational role or make a club exit. However, he will bring a lot of offensive power behind the strike force of Glen Murray and Jurgen Locardia.
Brighton are currently 6 points clear of the bottom three and might just be able to survive a season in the Premier League if they maintain their form for the next 7 games. They have lost both of their previous two league fixtures against Everton and Leicester City by 2 goals, even after impressing against Arsenal earlier in March with a 2-1 showing at the Falmer Stadium.
