Gareth Southgate has paid tribute to a 'different kind of player' in Newcastle United target James Maddison - who is able to 'find a way' despite not being as 'quick or strong' as others.
Maddison has started two of England's last three internationals on the left in a huge show of faith from Southgate given the intense competition for places in the final third. Southgate had never previously handed Maddison a chance from the off - the attacking midfielder did not even get on the pitch at the World Cup - but the 26-year-old has clearly earned the trust of his international manager with his performances for club and country.
Indeed, Maddison was directly involved in 19 Premier League goals last season for a Leicester City side that were relegated. No wonder both Newcastle and Spurs are interested in signing the versatile England international.
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Maddison's favoured role is as a number 10, but the Coventry native lined up predominantly on the right for Leicester last season and even has experience of playing as a number eight, which would give Eddie Howe further options if Newcastle managed to sign him. Southgate, for one, is a huge fan having watched Maddison take two Malta players out of the game with a superb turn in the build-up to Trent Alexander-Arnold's goal in the 4-0 win in Valletta last week.
"That role where he can drift and the position he found for the second goal, where he came inside, that's what he is," he told reporters. "He's comfortable receiving in those areas.
"He's not as quick or as strong as others, but he finds a way of wriggling in those spaces and in those tight areas, and he's a different type of player. With a lot of the players we're talking about, they may be suited to some games better than others. We play different opponents that pose different problems, but it's great to have those different types of players."
