Newcastle United transfer target James Maddison put in a blistering performance as Leicester City beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 on Monday night.
The Foxes have had an awful start to the season, but have finally got their first win of the new campaign. They absolutely battered rivals Nottingham Forest at the King Power, resigning them to bottom of the league.
There were some tremendous performances from Brendan Rodgers’ side, but Maddison was the pick of the bunch.
He opened the scoring with a deflected effort, then got a second later in the first half. An absolutely world class free kick rifled past Dean Henderson and gave Leicester a 3-0 lead.
But Maddison wasn’t finished there. In the 73rd minute, he provided a pinpoint cross along the deck for Patson Daka to make it four.
It was a wonderful night for Leicester, and an exceptional outing from Maddison. And the 25-year-old earned some incredibly high praise.
Lineker and Enrique praise Maddison’s performance
Match of the Day host and Leicester fan Gary Lineker watched the game, and was in awe of what Maddison did, calling him ‘extraordinary‘.
Midway through the game, he wrote on Twitter: “Just have to break the temporary silence to insist once again that James Maddison is England’s most creative midfielder, and surely has to be in the squad for Qatar.”
That is incredibly high praise from Lineker, and comes after Maddison was not included in the latest England squad. This performance will increase the calls for Gareth Southgate to take him to Qatar.
He has had a brilliant start to the season, made all the more impressive considering how poor Leicester have been. In his opening seven Premier League games of the season, Maddison has seven goal contributions – five goals and two assists.
Those numbers are fantastic, and proof as to why Newcastle wanted to sign him. But former Toon defender Jose Enrique thinks he could do a job for Liverpool.
The Spaniard wrote on Twitter: “He will have been the perfect number 8 for us in the summer. What a player.”
Despite playing more times for Newcastle, Enrique is referring to his other former club Liverpool when he says ‘us’…
But that’s by the by. What matters most is Maddison showing exactly why Newcastle want him in January.
Newcastle planning Maddison transfer
The Magpies tried to sign Maddison during the summer transfer window. Dan Ashworth had two bids rejected, with Leicester valuing him at £60million.
That was deemed too much for Newcastle, who looked elsewhere. However, they plan to revisit their interest in January.
The Times have claimed that Newcastle will make a third bid for Maddison – but only if Leicester lower their asking price.
They might have to given he will be in the final 18 months of his contract. However, they will be very reluctant to let him leave on the cheap given how well he is playing.
Maddison was exceptional on Monday night, and reinforces why Newcastle want him. If only we had got him in the summer. Fingers crossed we can correct that error in January and bring him to St James’ Park.
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