Brendan Rodgers urges Gareth Southgate to take ‘brilliant’ midfielder to World Cup

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James Maddison should have a place in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup plans.

That is the view of Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, who believes the Foxes’ number 10 is without a doubt worthy of a spot on the Three Lions’ plane to Qatar later this month.

Maddison, 25, has been one of the country’s biggest talking points. Should he go to Qatar, shouldn’t he go to Qatar? – Pundits and fans have been divided, but Rodgers is under no illusion that the former Norwich City playmaker is ‘ready for a World Cup’.

In action during Saturday night’s feature Premier League game away to Frank Lampard’s Everton, Maddison, although unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself, was undoubtedly one of the Foxes’ best players.

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Setting up teammate Youri Tielemans, who scored a ‘Goal of the Season’ contender, Maddison’s recent assist has now taken his direct contribution tally to eight for the season.

James Maddison (left) in action for Leicester City against Everton.

When asked if Maddison should be in contention for a place in England’s final 25-man squad for this month’s World Cup, Rodgers, who spoke after the game to Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves, said: “For me, it’s not a debate, that’s the reality.

“There are so many top players and it’s great to see so many attacking players doing really well but if you can’t find a [spot for a] player of that quality that has produced consistently over the last 18 months then it’s obviously sad in terms of a footballing perspective. You saw tonight, his ability on the ball, his awareness, his cleverness. You want to be creating goals, scoring goals and he’s one of the best at that.

“He’s a player that has risk in his game but has risk at the right moments. He assists tonight and probably unfortunate not to score towards the end.

“An absolutely brilliant player who’s ready for a World Cup with his maturity. He’s 25 years of age and he’s performing like that, week in, week out in the Premier League and for him, he can do no more. He’s an outstanding talent.”

Do you agree with Rodgers? – Should Maddison be part of England’s World Cup squad? – Let us know in the comments.

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