James Maddison: Why the Leicester City star would be a valuable addition to England’s World Cup squad – scout report

Born and raised in Coventry, James Maddison joined the Coventry City youth team and progressed into the first-team squad. After immediately impressing for The Sky Blues and earning valuable experience in the EFL, Norwich City signed the attacking midfielder before sending him out on loan, at first back to Coventry and then to Scotland with Aberdeen.

The three-month spell in Scotland saw Maddison provide seven assists and two goals for The Dons, resulting in a return to The Canaries. The following season, Maddison proved to be one of the best players in the Championship, with 22 goal involvements in 44 appearances as he was named Norwich City’s player of the season. These performances earned a £20m transfer to Premier League side Leicester City in the summer of 2018.

Maddison has been central to one of the most successful periods in Leicester Citys history. Domestically, The Foxes lifted their first ever FA Cup alongside achieving back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the Premier League, just falling short of UEFA Champions League qualification. On the continent, Leicester endured two underwhelming UEFA Europa League campaigns before a heart-breaking UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final loss against eventual winners AS Roma.

Last season was Maddison’s best for attacking output, registering 18 goals and 12 assists in all competitions. This season has started horrifically for Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City, rooted at the bottom of the Premier League with just one point from their opening seven fixtures. However, Maddison has continued to perform well. The 25-year-old has three goals and an assist in the Premier League, leading to outrage when Gareth Southgate left him out of the England squad once again.

This tactical analysis, in the form of a scout report, will look at the qualities that James Maddison could provide in England’s squad ahead of the World Cup and turn around Leicester’s dismal start to the season.

Player profile

James Maddison (175cm/5’9”, 73kg/160lbs) is a right-footed attacking midfielder capable of producing moments of individual brilliance. A dead-ball specialist, Maddison has registered a combined eleven goals and assists in his last ten Premier League appearances. Despite Leicester City’s dreadful opening months of the season, the 25-year-old attacking midfielder has performed relatively well.

His role under Brendan Rodgers has been ever-changing this season. As the under-pressure manager has lined up in variations of a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3, alongside different three-at-the-back systems, Maddison has been shoehorned away from the typical #10 positions. The figure below displays his heatmap so far this season.

Naturally, Maddison likes to occupy the half-spaces and has a particular preference for the right side. The Englishman has recently been deployed as the right midfielder for the Foxes, rarely receiving by the touchline as the width holder but tending to move infield with the right-back advancing. Maddison has also operated as a second striker alongside Jamie Vardy as the front two in Leicester’s three-at-the-back. In the 2-1 home loss against Southampton, the former Norwich City midfielder was deployed in a deeper role as an 8 in the 4-3-3. Maddison put Leicester in front with a superb free-kick struck with pace and precision to wrap around the wall and beat Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.

With Leicester’s recent poor form, Maddison has frequently dropped to receive possession off the centre-backs when they are losing. By receiving deeper, he can attempt his eye of the needle passes to progress possession into the final third. However, Maddison is removing himself from the most threatening areas around goal, despite being Leicester’s key creator and goal-scoring threat. Overall, his influence from deep may help Leicester’s ball progression but it hinders the likelihood of penetration.