Wolves' former target James Maddison could come back to haunt them tonight

Football FanCast

By Lewis Blain

Published Feb 14, 2020

Wolves are set to face one of their former transfer targets, James Maddison, this evening and he has the ability to show why they missed out.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are back in action tonight as they host Leicester City in one of the more subdued Midlands derbies at Molineux.

It could be said that both teams are vying for a place in a European competition next season, which may add a bit more spice to the encounter and with the home side currently on the outside looking in, they could do with the three points.

Wolves sit in ninth position but are just four points from fifth place, and considering there are 13 games to go, everything is still to play for.

The Foxes have a major threat that the west Midlanders should know all too well about in James Maddison.

Speaking on The Molineux View podcast this week, The Athletic's Tim Spiers revealed that Wolves were courting the 23-year-old whilst he was at Norwich City before he sealed a move to Leicester for around £20m.

The England international is now valued at £54m by Transfermarkt, which is a measure on just how well he has risen to stardom at the King Power Stadium.

This season alone, he's been in red hot form, racking up six goals and three assists as Brendan Rodgers' side sit in third place with an eight-point cushion.

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He's clearly a major threat and the key danger man tonight, as per WhoScored, the attacking midfielder is also averaging 2.7 key passes, 2.4 shots and 1.8 dribbles per game.

If Maddison can perform to just his average alone, then Wolves are going to get a glimpse of what could have been, anything above his regular numbers, then they are going to be severely at risk - regret may even come into minds of the decision-makers too.

According to LeicestershireLive, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville once compared him to former Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard, which is quite the acclaim.

"I mentioned Eden Hazard the other night. They play football like it should be played as a kid where it’s just really enjoyable. He is having an amazing first season."

Gary Neville, ex-Man Utd full-back.

His valuation has doubled in just a couple of seasons with the Foxes, and neither of Nuno Santo's regular midfield options - namely Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho - can even match his figures for this campaign.