It has been reported that Manchester City were keen on a transfer for James Maddison until very recently.
This comes from Jack Gaughan, as the former Leicester City talisman’s £40 million (Sky Sports) move to Tottenham Hotspur was confirmed on Wednesday.
However, Manchester City also showed interest in a swoop for James Maddison until very recently.
Manchester City were keen on James Maddison transfer
This is not the first instance in which City have been linked with the England international, as the Daily Mail had reported in the summer that the club were interested in securing his services.
Another link emerged in April relating to a potential £50 million transfer, with Juanmo Lillo told The Athletic that he was ‘crazy’ about the virtuosic midfielder
Now, it has been reported that James Maddison was ‘of interest’ to Manchester City, who have ended up losing Ilkay Gundogan this summer.
However, Tottenham ‘moved quickly’ to ensure that they get a deal over the for the 26-year-old.
Ultimately, this means that the Sky Blues are still in need of an advanced midfielder to replace Gundogan, having signed a player like Kovacic who is much more comfortable playing deeper.
Maddison would not have been the ideal profile
As dynamic a footballer as James Maddison is, one questions whether he would have even fit into this Manchester City side.
In the event that the Englishman operated as an advanced midfielder alongside Kevin De Bruyne, to have another high-risk creator in the side would have been quite chaotic and the anthesis of how Pep Guardiola sets his midfields up.
While De Bruyne’s risk-taking actions are simply one of the best the game has ever seen, only he gets the pass to try his luck at creating something out of nothing on countless occasions.
The same rule does not apply to other midfielders, who do not possess his incredible execution, which is a more ball retentive profile like David Silva or Ilkay Gundogan has always been deployed alongside him.
As a result, while Maddison would have been an exciting arrival, his traits do not particularly suit this City side.
