Speaking on The Football Terrace’s The Done Deal Show, Pete O’Rourke dropped a new claim on Arsenal’s attempts to sign James Maddison.
It has been reported that Leicester City are holding out for more than £60 million before parting ways with Maddison, and based on their new arrivals and rumoured signings such as Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale, that price tag may not put off the Gunners.
Should Arsenal sign Maddison?
Yes!
No!
The Gunners are on the hunt for a No 10 that can provide a creative spark for them, with Martin Odegaard set to remain at Real Madrid for the upcoming season despite spending the second half of last season on loan with the Gunners, where he managed to start nine league games, losing just two of those – which were against Manchester City and Liverpool.
O’Rourke gave his latest update on where Arsenal stand on their attempts to bring in Maddison.
“I think they’re getting encouraging signs maybe that something could be done with James Maddison, which, I don’t know, maybe people thought was a bit of a fantasy signing for Arsenal, that they didn’t think they’d be able to get him.
“But I think they’ve been encouraged that they might be able to persuade Leicester to do a deal. It seems Arsenal are ready to offer a couple of fringe players in part-exchange for Maddison as well as a substantial fee, so maybe offering £50 million, plus the likes of a [Ainsley] Maitland-Niles or Reiss Nelson or even a Joe Willock.
“I think Maddison is sort of coming around to the idea of maybe moving from Leicester to Arsenal.
“So, really encouraging signs here for the Gunners that they might be able to land James Maddison, who’s been a top target for them, not just for this summer – I was told last summer he was on their list but they just knew then, it would have been too hard to do.”
TIF Thoughts on Arsenal’s pursuit of Maddison…
Maddison certainly has the ability with his shot-creating actions per 90 minutes ranking top of anyone else in Leicester’s squad last season (of players to have played more than one game) and having an attacking lineup consisting of Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Maddison would arguably be a striker’s dream.
The main thing holding Maddison back is likely to be his injuries. Since he joined the Foxes from Norwich City, he has missed 13 games and 159 days due to injuries with four of those being knee injuries, which may highlight a problem for the midfielder.