‘Ridiculously low’ James Maddison transfer fee secret to rampant Leicester City

The latest Leicester City news from LeicestershireLive as the Foxes once again sweep aside a Championship opponent to continue their promotion campaign

Enzo Maresca revels in another Leicester City win
Sky Sports pundit Jobi McAnuff has praised the Leicester City hierarchy for the club’s scintillating start to their Championship campaign – not least their decision to sell James Maddison to Tottenham.

The Foxes recorded their 12th win in their first 13 league games on Tuesday night, with James Justin’s first half header enough to seal a 1-0 victory over Sunderland.

City are charging towards an immediate return to the Premier League – at record-breaking pace – with Enzo Maresca confirming his potential as one of the brightest coaching minds in the country and his team not missing the likes of Maddison and Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes.

Asked why the Foxes are ‘standing out so much’, the former Reading midfielder pointed to decisions taken in the summer, not just appointing Maresca but acting decisively on other areas.

“That recruitment in the summer,” McAnuff told Sky Sports. “I think firstly getting a manager in with a clear philosophy and identity but giving him the time to go and implement that throughout preseason. We’ve seen clubs that come down, maybe lose big players and not quite replace them or either leave it too late in the window.

“You look at Maddison, he went for a lot, you see what he’s gone on to do now at Spurs, we’re talking about a £40 million fee which seems ridiculously low for what he’s doing, but what it does, it enables them to just get that process going, get the bodies in that they want.

“Harry Winks coming in has been absolutely fundamental, the goalkeeper coming in which was a position they really needed to go and fill. So I think there are certainly some real good examples of that recruitment side and then it’s about the manager and obviously a real good squad of players there.”

All your women’s football action packed into Women’s Football News
Women’s Football news is a brand new monthly mag all about the women’s game.

Whether it’s news from the WSL or the Championship leagues or an update on the grassroots game – you’ll find it all inside our brand new mag.

There’s 48 pages packed with news, interviews and expert opinion order your copy now.

undefined
Each month our new publication will take you through the leagues, take you behind the scenes and shine a light on ALL levels of the game.

Priced £3, this month’s edition will give a flavour of what’s to come from our monthly Women’s Football News.

You can buy Women’s Football News from participating retailers or can order it for home delivery from our online store here.

Co-pundit Keith Andrews praised Maresca. “It’s managing the players as well,” the former West Brom man said. “[Jannik] Vestergaard didn’t start the season, looked like he was going on to pastures new and it’s how you manage that situation. They were itching for the window to close with the squad looking strong. Vestergaard in recent weeks, since Coady’s injury when he really cemented his place within the team, has been outstanding.

“They’re very, very impressive with everything they’ve done, how they’ve approached it, the humility, what’s needed to compete and be successful in this league. It’s not just about talent. I think that was quite telling from [Kiernan] Dewsbury-Hall, how he spoke about that win and what was needed tonight. It wasn’t vintage, it wasn’t as fluid as they would have wanted in possession.

“A lot of that goes down to the way Sunderland set up and they could have, should have probably got the second goal to make things a little bit easier. But Sunderland will say they should have got on the scoresheet as well and that would be accurate. But listen what they’ve done so far has been very, very impressive.”