James Maddison: A Developing, All-Action Midfielder
He made his professional debut in 2014 for boyhood club Coventry City, while his first goal, unsurprisingly, came in the form of a free-kick against Oldham Athletic two months later.
Maddison’s debut season as a senior played ended with him netting a 90th-minute winner away at Crawley Town at the age of only 18. It was a simple finish, but one that sparked ecstatic celebrations from a youngster with heaps of raw talent.
The following campaign, in 2015/16, Maddison was at it again, scoring with 10 minutes to play against Port Vale and with a minute remaining at Chesterfield.
In February 2016, Norwich secured the permanent services of the attacking midfielder, but immediately loaned him back to the Sky Blues as he ended the season with three goals in 23 League 1 appearances.
The following season, he made his first team debut in the League Cup in a 6-1 success over former side Coventry, but it was now time for Maddison to gain loan experience elsewhere.
Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen was his chosen destination, and the move brought with it a moment that will no doubt live with him forever.
With the scores level at 1-1 between Aberdeen and Rangers, Maddison sent a wonderful free-kick into the top corner to sink the 54-time champions of Scotland.
His loan spell ended at Pittodrie in December, and he headed back to Carrow Road with 14 Scottish top-flight appearances under his belt.
It wasn’t until April 2017 that he next featured, and naturally, he was on the scoresheet again in injury time in a 3-1 success at Preston North End.
His breakthrough season at Norwich came in 2017/18, though, after he scored 15 goals and registered eight assists to earn himself a spot in the PFA and EFL’s Championship Team of the Year.
With that success came a call-up to the England Under-21s set-up, where he would come across several of his future City team-mates before a senior cap followed two years later.
His form during his final season at Norwich prompted Leicester to sign him on a five-year deal in June 2018, with his debut following two months later against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Maddison’s maiden campaign in the Premier League was a particularly notable one. His goalscoring started on his King Power Stadium debut in a 2-0 win against Wolves, but it was his strikes from set-plays that most caught the eye.
The Coventry-born midfielder scored three free-kicks in 2018/19, and became the first player to do so in a single Premier League season since Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho two years prior.
His first came in a 3-1 win against Huddersfield Town, as he curled over the wall and into the back of the net past Jonas Lössl.
James Maddison vs. Southampton
A superb free-kick by James Maddison put the Foxes 8-0 up against the Saints in the Premier League.
He then struck a superb free-kick in the pouring rain at Burnley, before he sent another past former Fox Ben Hamer, again versus Huddersfield, a couple of weeks later.
In addition, he was the only player to create 100 chances in the Premier League in 2018/19, and the first Englishman to do so since Everton left-back Leighton Baines in 2012/13.
It had been a productive first Premier League season for Maddison, who ended the campaign with seven goals and as many assists to his name.
He has once again been a key member of the City squad this term, and added another free-kick to his tally after scoring the eighth goal in the record-breaking 9-0 win at Southampton in October.
Maddison’s record against north London clubs in 2019/20 is impressive, too. He fired home the winning goal in September’s 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, while drilling in to round off a 2-0 success against Arsenal.
An equally-majestic effort came at Newcastle United on New Year’s Day, too, as he slammed in with his left foot from range en route to a 3-0 win.
In 28 appearances throughout the 2019/20 campaign, Maddison has scored six goals and notched up three assists, helping Leicester rise to third in the division before the Premier League’s fixtures were suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
However, there is much more to Maddison’s game than purely attacking statistics. Under Brendan Rodgers this term, he has completed 53 tackles, which places him 18th in the midfield rankings, but in amongst some of the best all-action midfielders in the league.
“If you look at his numbers, goals scored and created… he’s a big game player,” Rodgers said of Maddison back in November. “He’s scored against Liverpool and Tottenham.
“If I look at his numbers in that area, he’s up 50 per cent, in terms of pressing and intercepting, making blocks.
“That puts him alongside Jordan Henderson, who’s a brilliant player, and James ranks alongside him and one or two other players.
“If you tag onto that his creative side, you have a fantastic player.”
All of his previous seasons have pointed towards him developing as an attacking midfielder, but it his wider contribution, namely in a role similar to that of a no.8, that Rodgers has extracted this campaign.