Tottenham admit admiration of James Maddison

Tottenham assistant coach Cristian Stellini has revealed he and others at Spurs are huge admirers of Leicester City midfielder James Maddison ahead of their meeting on Saturday.

The England midfielder has been the Foxes’ standout performer in what has been a disappointing season by their standards, with Leicester still mired in a relegation battle.

Maddison’s form saw him called into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, though has largely struggled with injury since November.

Speaking ahead of Spurs’ trip to the King Power Stadium, Stellini – standing in for the head coach Antonio Conte following his recent surgery – admitted Maddison is a player on their radar.

“We like Maddison like a player. He is an important player in this league,” Stellini said.

“A player with an important type of skill, like his delivery, his cross. His right foot is a very important foot so he shoots, he crosses, he takes the set-pieces.

“He is a player you have to take care of. When you play against this player, you have to be careful.

“When you feel how important is this type of skill, for sure you like this type of player. He’s a player with talent.

“At the moment he’s playing for Leicester, a team we play against. We take care of him like an opponent.”

Tottenham have been heavily linked with moves for Maddison down the years, retaining an interest in him during spells at Coventry, Norwich and now Leicester.