Declan Rice has labelled Tottenham Hotspur transfer target James Maddison a ‘top’ player’ for Leicester City after he was selected in England’s 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup.
The West Ham midfielder watched Maddison bag his seventh Premier League goal of the season at the London Stadium on Saturday as Brendan Rodgers’s men secured a 2-0 win.
England kick-off their World Cup campaign against Iran next Monday, and whilst Rice is a certain starter, Maddison is certainly banging that door down to play alongside the hard-hitting midfielder.
Not even probably Tottenham striker Harry Kane can claim to be in better form than the 25-year-old, who has seven goals and four assists to his name this term.
Nonetheless, ahead of their link-up on the international stage, Rice was full of praise for Maddison, as he told BBC Sport.
“Delighted for him,” said Rice. “Top player and person. Fully deserved his call-up and can’t wait to see him show his quality on the biggest stage.”
MADDISON A WANTED MAN
With Maddison’s strong form, and that for a team that has struggled for large parts this season, comes transfer interest from the outside.
The Foxes have been in Europe before, and if they want to keep Maddison, then they will need to get back there because the likes of Tottenham and Newcastle are looking to sign the £60 million-rated star.
Well, if he cooks on the World Cup stage, like he has been doing in the Premier League, then he might just be out of reach for those two teams because his reputation will just sky-rocket even further.
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