Man United should not be tempted by James Maddison’s availability this summer.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes the Red Devils’ efforts to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea, which have so far proved fruitless, should not lead them to target Leicester City’s James Maddison as an alternative option.
Maddison, 26, is set to leave the King Power Stadium this summer after the Foxes were relegated back to the Championship on the final day of last season.
In line to follow Youri Tielemans out the exit, Maddison, valued at around £50m, is believed to be a top target for both Spurs and Newcastle United.
What has Stan Collymore said about James Maddison?
However, while United continually try to land Mount for somewhere between £50-£55m, Chelsea, who are digging their heels in over the midfielder’s £65m price tag, are not making it easy for their rivals to complete a deal, and Collymore is worried that could lead to Maddison emerging as a back-up option.
“Newcastle are a club looking to build and take the next step, as are Spurs; so a player like Maddison, who has great credentials, such as being a senior England international, is an ideal target,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“However, when it comes to the possibility of him joining a high-pressured club like United or even Liverpool, nobody knows how he’s going to respond yet. Mount, on the other hand, despite being just 24 years old, has already proven he can make that step up. He has a Champions League winner’s medal to prove it.
“Maddison will leave Leicester City as the biggest fish in a small pond, and if he went to Old Trafford, suddenly he’d be a very small fish in an ocean – would he rise to the occasion and thrive off the pressure, or would he shrink? – All you have to do for an example of what the latter looks like is look at Jadon Sancho.”
Despite signing for a whopping £85m (TM), Sancho’s opening two years at Old Trafford have largely been a disappointment. Scoring just 12 goals in 79 games in all competitions, the former Dortmund ace has failed to live up to the hype that earned him such a big transfer.