Manchester City and Chelsea eyeing Leicester’s James Maddison

Manchester City and Chelsea are looking at Leicester City’s James Maddison, according to reports from Spanish outlet Fichajes.

According to the report, the two Champions League finalists are looking to buy him in the summer.

It is being said that Pep Guardiola would love to have a player like him that can play alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden.

If something along those lines is feasible both in financial and tactical terms, then Guardiola would surely be looking to add him to his already stacked roster.

Does buying Maddison make sense for Manchester City?

It doesn’t really fill a positional need — Manchester City still very much need a striker with Sergio Aguero going away, Gabriel Jesus not being consistent enough and the unknown sustainability of Guardiola’s flexible false-nine setup.

It’s something that Guardiola would have to figure out. They have so many options in the midfield and the attack that it’s actually hard to understand which players will get the most minutes.

Would you bench Maddison after buying him? Would you bench Phil Foden — a man who is so talented and is starting games at such a young age? Would you drop your wingers instead?

I didn’t mention Kevin De Bruyne, because you obviously wouldn’t bench Kevin De Bruyne.

So yes, for Manchester City it looks a little less likely, at least in my opinion.

Does buying Maddison make sense for Chelsea?

For Chelsea, it makes a little more sense, but it mostly depends on which players Thomas Tuchel would like to bench.

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Right now, the attackers that start are three of Pulisic, Werner, Havertz, Mount. If you add Maddison into the mix, it’s almost guaranteed that one of those three players loses out.

Mason Mount won the player of the year award for Chelsea, Havertz has been struggling but has played very well when he’s had a false nine role, and everything about Werner has been good except for his finishing.

Pulisic has been in and out of the starting line-up but has been good as of late.

So, really, who goes to the bench?

I don’t really see how either of these two teams would need a player like Maddison, but I do know that if he’s signed by one of them, the team improves as a whole, at least on paper.

Maddison is so good at creating chances. His dribbling in tight spaces and his passing vision are just great assets, and any team would be lucky to have him.

However, staying at Leicester might be the best option for now because if he does move, there are risks of him not even getting that much game time.

Leicester are in a great moment right now, having won the FA Cup, and are sitting third in the Premier League table.

Staying with them and seeing how far they go next season and beyond is a great option, and if I were him, I’d choose that over potentially not getting many minutes because of the sheer quality that those two teams possess in this position.