Second tier football has perhaps never been this competitive. Because of how much money is being pumped in – the case of Newcastle building a solid British spine and now Wolves showing that the Premier League isn’t far away with a bit investment – the quality of young players in the Championship is arguably at its best in years.
One of the players to have recently made headlines is new Leicester City signing James Maddison. Signed for a hefty fee of £22million plus add-ons, Maddison has left quite a few fans scratching their heads as to how someone with no Premier League experience can cost so much.
He is still very young of course – just 21 – so the investment has been made keeping in mind how good he can become if he keeps his current progress. Norwich City had a pretty tough time in the Championship last time out as they could only manage a 14th place finish. Maddison, however, was the star performer in the team.
The only surprise is that he moved to a Premier League side expected to challenge for a European placed instead of someone expected to scrap it towards the bottom end of the table. The answer lies in his ability.
Maddison’s arrival will add more creativity
Leicester have at times looked laboured. You take away the threat of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, and this team will struggle for any sort of attacking output. Demarai Gray has shown hints of what he can do, but he has been far too inconsistent.
The Claudio Ranieri blueprint can be replicated but it will have to be a varied model. Puel is a pretty pragmatic coach and someone like Maddison in the middle, contributing goals and providing that drive and creativity with his passing, could be the ideal setup for Mahrez (if he stays), Gray and Vardy.
Last season was Maddison’s best and 14 goals and 8 assists. That’s a combined 22 goals he had a hand in. Norwich scored 49 goals in total, so that’s more than a third he’s had a hand in. For a player plying his trade in a league that is pretty physical, that is a pretty astounding return for his age.
Of course, the pace and overall nature of the Premier League will be a step up, but if he can be eased into it by Puel, he could turn into something special. He will be playing in a position where he’ll have to open defences up or orchestrate the final pass, so the pressure could groom him into a very talented Premier League player.
Leicester have indeed signed a pretty special player.
