Since last season, James Maddison has been different gravy in a struggling Leicester City side.
The 25-year-old seems to be in the form of his life this term, with 6 goals and 4 assists for a Foxes side languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.
With the Coventry-born midfielder being in such brilliant touch, both fans and pundits alike have clamoured for him to be included in England’s squad for the upcoming World Cup.
In recent tournaments, the Three Lions have lacked a difference maker, barring perhaps Raheem Sterling to take the game by the scruff of the neck and run the show.
With Maddison performing said responsibilities for Leicester week in, week out, it is natural why there has been a borderline national campaign for him to be on the plane to Qatar.
To the English fans’ delight, it has been confirmed on Thursday that the former Norwich City talisman is in the roster for the showpiece tournament.
Quizzed about why he picked James Maddison as a part of his squad, Gareth Southgate replied by telling reporters, “But as I said earlier, he’s playing exceptionally well. We like the fact that he finds those pockets of space. He gets turned; he plays forward. Not enough players play forward in this day and age, and of course, his set-play delivery is outstanding.”
“And he can score goals from distance, which against low-block defences is another attribute that is a little bit different to some of our other players.”
The England boss also discussed why he hasn’t been picked as much as he would have liked in the past, saying, “He’s always been up against some really good players in that area of the pitch. And there’s been moments where we were playing 4-3-3, no No.10 type-profile and that didn’t necessarily fit [Maddison]”
Now that Maddison has finally got his big break, the pressure is on his shoulders to deliver whenever called upon in Qatar.
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