Southampton to beat Leicester City to signature of James Maddison

The Daily Mail is today reporting that Southampton are closing in on a deal for Norwich City’s James Maddison.

Maddison is valued at around £20 million and it is understood that Southampton are close to meeting said valuation.

Leicester, West Ham, Everton and a host of other clubs are understood to be interested in the highly-rated youngster but Southampton look set to beat them all to the signature of Maddison.

Rising star

Maddison is a product of the Coventry City academy who made his senior debut for Coventry in 2014.

Maddison made 42 appearances for Coventry in which he scored five and assisted five. The Englishman also enjoyed a loan spell at Aberdeen playing 17 times for the SPL side, scoring 2 and assisting seven in that time.

Maddison moved to Norwich in February of 2016 for a fee in the region of £2.4 million.

Since signing for Norwich Maddison has made 53 appearances for their first team.

NORWICH, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 13: Norwich City joint majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones are seen on the stand prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Norwich City and West Ham United at Carrow Road on February 13, 2016 in Norwich, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

Impressive season

In his 53 appearances for Norwich, Maddison has scored 16 and assisted 13. However, it was this past season which has shown what a top young talent the Norwich City star is.

In the 2017/18 season, Maddison managed 49 appearances in all competition for the Championship side.

In these 49 games, Maddison scored 14 and assisted eight. An incredibly impressive record for a central attacking midfielder and for somebody so young.

Maddison’s record is even more impressive when you look at how Norwich’s 2017/18 season went.

The Canneries finished in 14^th place for the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship season and scored just 49 goals in 46 games.

So, the fact Maddison, a 21-year-old attacking midfielder was able to score 14 and assist eight in such a poor side surely shows what a star the Englishman has the potential to be.

Related: Napoli set sights on Southampton star as alternative to Arsenal target Torreira.

Southampton eyeing Barcelona forward.

source https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/southampton-to-beat-leicester-city-to-signature-of-james-maddison/