An update has emerged on Leicester midfielder James Maddison, regarding Arsenal's interest in his services...
What's the talk?
According to Football London, Arsenal's interest in Leicester City midfielder James Maddison is genuine and Mikel Arteta would like to bring the Englishman to The Emirates this summer after missing out on a deal to sign Emi Buendia from Norwich.
The report claims that Arsenal could need to offload a few of their fringe players in order to finance a deal for the England international. Leicester are said to be demanding a fee of at least £70m for the former Canaries playmaker.
Ozil replacement
Arsenal must do everything in their power to secure a deal for Maddison this summer as they could land their Mesut Ozil replacement by bringing him to the club.
Arteta has struggled to fill the creative void left by the German and Maddison could be the player they need to come in and be the chief creator in the Spaniard's midfield next season.
In the Premier League last season, Emile Smith-Rowe and Martin Odegaard topped the charts for Arsenal in terms of chances created per game as they both managed 1.4. Ozil, meanwhile, averaged 2.9 or more chances created per game in five of his campaigns in the league with the Gunners, showing how much of a drop off there has been in the number 10 role in recent seasons.
Maddison has the quality to come in and fill that gap. Earlier this year, Southampton defender Jack Stephens lavished praise on the "phenomenal" attacker, having played alongside him at Coventry earlier in his career.
"I remember his mindset. He was always out on the pitch until the late afternoon with a bag of balls.
“It sounds so cliche but he really was determined to improve himself and harness his skills.
"Fair play to him, really, he's been absolutely brilliant ever since and he has matured as a player.
“The ability he has got is phenomenal and he has come on every year now for four or five years."
The Foxes midfielder averaged 2.2 chances created per 90 in the Premier League last term. This is after he managed 2.8 and 2.5 per game in the two previous top-flight campaigns respectively, having also created 2.8 chances per game in the Championship for Norwich in the 2017/18 season. This shows that he has the ability and vision on the ball to be the playmaker Arsenal have been lacking and their long-term heir to Ozil's throne.
He has also shown an eye for goal from midfield. The 24-year-old has scored 21 goals across the past three Premier League seasons, including eight in 24 starts last term. This means that he could add goals and assists to Arteta's squad, which is why he should be brought in to bolster the starting XI in the coming months.
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