There aren’t many players in world football who can keep pace with the numbers Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is producing, but Leicester City’s James Maddison is giving it a good go.
Haaland may already be engraving his name onto all of this season’s individual awards, but Maddison is also putting together an impressive campaign.
Having scored five and assisted two in his first seven Premier League matches, Maddison, 25, has not only impressed for what has so far been an abysmal Leicester City side, but he has put himself in late contention to make Gareth Southgate’s England squad for next month’s winter World Cup in Qatar.
Although FIFA have extended the maximum number of players allowed in a country’s squad from 23 or 26, there is still major uncertainty surrounding which players will make Southgate’s final squad, and one of those is Maddison.
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However, making a case for why the talented number 10, former Liverpool midfielder Stan Collymore believes the 25-year-old is in ‘red-hot form’ and should certainly be on England’s World Cup plane.
“If I was talking about James Maddison making England’s squad a year ago, I would have said ‘no chance’, but that answer is very different now,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“He’s in red-hot form and is a player who has a lot to offer. He is capable of running with the ball, spearheading attacks and has great set-piece delivery.
“Sometimes he comes across as over-confident but there is no denying that he’s playing well, assisting and scoring goals. He definitely should be on that plane for next month’s World Cup.
“When you look around the England squad, we’re blessed in so many areas and midfield is obviously one of them, but I would certainly leave a spot open for Maddison.”