Darren Bent believes James Maddison – who is strongly linked with Tottenham Hotspur right now – could be good enough to be a replacement for Ilkay Gundogan at Manchester City.
The German midfielder has now officially departed the Etihad, joining Barcelona on a free transfer.
Tributes have been plentiful for the 32-year-old, who just wanted a new chapter in the end.
City wanted to keep him. But the terms they offered were not to his liking.
Gundogan said that if he was going to leave City, then Barca were the only team he was going to sign for.
City must now try and move on from the star.
And it looks as though a deal for Mateo Kovacic will soon complete.
But there is a feeling that City won’t stop at the Croatian.
And Bent believes Maddison would be a great addition for City.
Darren Bent says Tottenham target James Maddison could replace Ilkay Gundogan for Man City
Speaking yesterday on talkSPORT, Bent suggested that Maddison – just relegated with Leicester City – might be able to replace Gundogan as a midfield player that scores goals.
He said: “I think he’s good enough. It just comes down to that settling in period. We saw Jack Grealish go for £100 million and not have his best year.
“People were quick to try and write him off. Second season he came back and they win the Treble.
“I think Maddison goes there… it might take him a bit of time to adapt in Pep’s system. But I’m sure once he got it, he’d be more than fine to play at Man City. He’s got the quality, the technique, the ability, he can run, he works hard, he can see a pass… there’s no reason why he couldn’t do it.”
James Maddison would shine for Man City, but it’s not happening
Maddison has been linked with City before, and is a very interesting player.
Certainly, he is a top attacking midfielder with the numbers to back him up.
He’s scored 55 goals and made 41 assists in 203 games for Leicester, which is a great return.
You would imagine his numbers would improve further if he was playing in a team like City’s.
At the moment, it looks like Tottenham Hotspur are very keen to sign Maddison. Tottenham are in talks, with Leicester valuing the player at £60 million. While City are looking to add Declan Rice to their squad after Kovacic.
If Maddison does go to Spurs then it’s a great addition for them.
