What happened to Leicester City’s Maddison

A promising year for Leicester City player, James Maddison

James Maddison is a midfielder that is feared on the field. Pep Guardiola had a taste of his action when Leicester inflicted a 5-2 on his team, Man City on 27 September 2020. That loss was his worst at home since his arrival in the Premier League.

During the match, other players like Jamie Vardy had scored a hat-trick. But Maddison’s goal which was first since January 2020 made a discussion and everyone started talking. He has made a spot in England’s National League.

What happened to Maddison?

It is expected that the 24-year-old’s player will be soaring but his performance has gone down a spiral. He has become less consistent and vibrant. To make matters worse, he had a very bad hip injury which caused a part of his poor performance and his fitness has denied him a lot of appearances. 

The harsh reality of him falling behind Grealish and Foden considerably by the end of the season has affected him psychologically. Maddison’s name didn’t make the list of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the Euros game. There was not an ounce of opposition, it was at this period he was also omitted from the list of the 25-man party for next month’s World Cup qualifiers.

“I thought he had a really poor season by his standards and I thought he let Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers down,” Sutton said. 

“This will be a big year for him, trying to maintain that fitness. You need a little bit of luck with that as well.

How has been Maddison’s career so far?

Maddison’s career began at his hometown club, Coventry City, made his debut at age 17. Then, he switches to Norwich City and had a short loan spell in Scotland with Aberdeen before moving to Leicester City.

Richard Stevens knows Maddison better than anyone, coached him as a boy in the Coventry academy. Even without being their current coach, he still keeps in touch with them.

In his statement, Richard Stevens said;

“Some of the smaller hurdles he has had in his career have shaped the person he is today. He’s playing in a top-six Premier League team and has been for two years. The injuries he’s picked up have come at a bad time; they’ve sent him back from being in contention for that England group in the summer.”

Even though he had to wait to develop physically, Stevens says Maddison’s personality was a great leveler and has always been at the center of everything.

One of the reasons he believes Maddison can get himself back on track this season was a time when there was a test of Maddison’s mental strength. This was during his teenage year when Stevens held back on offering him a scholarship contract at Coventry. As expected,  he wanted to see if doubts could fester and grow, but it was his inner confidence that impressed the coach, as he was resilient and strong-willed.

Maddison must improve this season if he wants to regain his lost glory. Against Manchester City last year, he proved he is capable, and hopefully he’ll be back stronger than ever.