James Maddison has revealed that he has trained 'hard' rather than 'sulking' as the England international waits for his chance at the World Cup.
That attitude hints at the character traits that have long cemented Newcastle United's interest in the Leicester City star. The Magpies, of course, had two bids turned down for Maddison last summer and a senior source at the King Power Stadium previously stressed to ChronicleLive that manager Brendan Rodgers 'made our position clear - he's not for sale'.
It remains to be seen if Newcastle test that stance once again in 2023, as Maddison approaches the final 18 months of his contract, but the attacking midfielder does not have to look too far to get an insight on life at St James' Park. Although Maddison is currently with the Three Lions squad in Qatar, the 26-year-old revealed last week that there had been some 'banter' with Newcastle's England contingent - Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson and Nick Pope - about the 'speculation'.
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Trippier et al already know what Maddison can do. As well as being a talismanic footballer, who has been directly involved in 44% of Leicester's Premier League goals this season, Maddison is the sort of player who would buy into the team-first mentality Eddie Howe is desperate not to 'destroy'.
"Every player wants to play," Maddison told the BBC about his wait to feature for England at the World Cup. "I'm not going to sit here and say, 'Oh, I'm happy to be a part of the squad and not get on.' I want to play - of course I want to play.
"But when you're here, there's almost a bigger feeling than that and everyone has a role to play. I haven't had any minutes yet but if I start sulking and moaning and not giving my all in training, not doing the gym stuff, not being a good positive person around the camp...it just feeds into the spirit we talk about that's so good.
"No one wants to look at themselves in the mirror and be that guy. There's a bigger picture here and that's our country, our nation, that we're at the World Cup representing.
"I've wanted to be in the squad so bad that not playing yet is not something that's getting me down. It's a pleasure to be here and I'm honoured to be here. I know that sounds cliché but it's the World Cup and you can never take that for granted.
"You've got to get the balance right of, 'I'm happy to be here but I want to play as well' so that's why you train hard, that's why you try and catch the manager's eye so he looks at the bench and sees you and thinks, 'He's an option.'"
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