Chelsea, Man City eye up £51m Prem ‘genius’, with dream partnerships in mind
Chelsea and Manchester City have registered serious interest in Leicester midfielder James Maddison, according to a report.
Respective managers Thomas Tuchel and Pep Guadiola will likely be busy in the summer transfer window after the Champions League final later this month. Reports have claimed that both Chelsea and City are after a new striker. They also have a similar target in Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.
But both sides are also supposedly after a midfielder. City have Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish on their radar, while Chelsea are looking at Marco Verratti from Paris Saint-Germain.
According to Fichajes, though, Maddison – who is described as a ‘genius’ – has emerged on the radars of the Premier League giants.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a strong season for the Foxes, capped off with their FA Cup final win over the Blues on Saturday.
He has played 29 Premier League games, chipping in with eight goals and seven assists. Overall, meanwhile, he has scored 11 times and laid on 10 others.
The report claims that both Tuchel and Guardiola can see the England international playing in their teams.
At Stamford Bridge, Tuchel has visions of Maddison working with Mason Mount and Kai Havertz.
Guardiola, meanwhile, can see the midfielder linking up with Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne. Indeed, the two English clubs have shown the most interest in Maddison, the report adds.
He signed a new contract at Leicester last summer and Fichajes adds that he is valued at €60million (£51million).
Maddison could have exciting new season
While he has enjoyed a strong campaign, though, it remains unclear if he has done enough to get a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad.
There is a scrap for places in attacking midfield, with Mount and Foden likely already there. However, Jesse Lingard has also impressed and is pushing for the perfect reward for his return to form at West Ham.
Grealish has returned from injury and will be pushing for a place of his own.
In any case, if he misses out in the summer, Maddison still has the prospect of Champions League football with Leicester next season.
Brendan Rodgers’ side must beat Chelsea again on Tuesday to keep their hopes of finishing in the top four alive.
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