Brendan Rodgers believes James Maddison can stay at Leicester City to fulfil his England ambitions. Last weekend, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate started the 26-year-old against Ukraine.
Maddison earned just his second England cap, his first coming in a 7-0 win over Montenegro three-and-a-half years ago. The midfielder was on the plane for the winter World Cup but a knee injury meant he did not make an appearance.
That injury - combined with Leicester’s poor season - has not prevented Maddison’s stock from rising. Nine goals and six assists for a side sitting just one point above the drop zone has fuelled talk about a possible summer exit.
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Newcastle United failed in two attempts to sign the England star last August. However, the links have refused to go away and, with Maddison only having a year left on his contract come June - the Foxes could be forced to cash in.
Speaking ahead of their trip to Crystal Palace, manager Rodgers was keen to note that his star asset is achieving his England ambitions at the King Power Stadium. The Leicester boss said: “He’s a gifted player whatever club he’s at. He’s shown here that, by playing at Leicester in the Premier League and being as effective as he can, it gives him the opportunity to make the squads.
“That’s where he’s at. Look, his contract, he’s got a year to go. You see him happy here. He’s playing and that’s allowed him to achieve his dream, which was to play for his country. It gives him confidence. Gareth (Southgate) and his staff have shown the confidence to put him into a qualification game, which is great. He’s earned the right for it.”
Rodgers also attributed confidence as a key factor in Maddison’s rise to the top. Only Harry Kane and Ivan Toney have managed more top-flight goal contributions in the past two seasons.
“He knows himself he’s up there on a level with a lot of the really gifted players in the squad,” he added. “There’s maybe been one occasion here (at the start of last season) where his confidence wasn’t quite at the level it was but other than that, he has an inherent belief in his ability.
“He’s now matching that with the work rate and mentality. We’ve seen the results of that over the past few seasons. He’ll hope, like we all will, that he can be involved in the squad now, and over the next number of years make an impact in it.”
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