SoccerSouls
·19 July 2019
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·19 July 2019
According to a report in the Liverpool Echo, James Maddison has been linked with a move to current European Champions, Liverpool.
Maddison had a fantastic debut season for Leicester City in the Premier League. Not many players can handle the transition from the Championship to the Premier League but Maddison left you wondering how a Premier League side hadn’t picked him up before.
He was one of the most creative players in the Premier League. He’s great from set-pieces and loves to hover around in that hybrid number 10 and number 8 role, which has become common now in an attacking 4-3-3 system.
Liverpool usually play a 4-3-3 system as well but do occasionally move to a 4-2-3-1 system in home games.
Maddison would quite easily fit into both systems. He’s a very good dribbler, which is why he’s good under tight spaces. He’s also capable of using both feet and has a fantastic vision.
Liverpool have a great first-team and squad but they do lack that creative midfielder who can play those clever passes behind the lines. Naby Keita was bought from RB Leipzig after impressing for many years in the Bundesliga but hasn’t had quite the impact at Liverpool.
Keita has many of the attributes of Maddison but he’s struggled with the physicality of the Premier League. Keita loves to drive forward from the middle of the park and was one of the players in transition in the world but Liverpool’s switch to a more possession-heavy system might’ve come at the wrong time for him.
It could also be that teams just sit back a lot more against Liverpool as they’re aware of the pace that the likes of Salah and Mane possess and are just happy to sit back. Keita is great in short spaces but was always more effective in a counter-attacking system and this shift in Liverpool’s play has at times made it hard for Liverpool to find a creative solution.
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Maddison would immediately solve that problem with his eye for a pass in tight areas and if teams sit a little too deep, he could just let a shot fly from range, which is one of his other strengths.
Maddison would in many ways complete the squad and Liverpool could possibly look an even stronger team than last year and finally win that elusive Premier League title.