Leicester City hit the jackpot with star who had previously shined with Coventry City | OneFootball

Arriving from Norwich in 2018, Leicester City hit the jackpot with the signing of ex-Coventry youngster James Maddison.

In the summer of 2018, it was Leicester City that secured the signing of Norwich City's James Maddison, with the Foxes spending £20 million as they searched for a new talisman following Riyad Mahrez's move to Manchester City.

Becoming a Premier League star at the King Power Stadium, Maddison continued to shift through the gears before his eventual move to Tottenham following Leicester's relegation in 2023, where the midfielder would become a Europa League champion.

For those not as tuned in to Maddison's career, it is often overlooked that his early days were spent at boyhood club Coventry City, the other side of the M69 rivalry with Leicester.

In a bargain deal for Norwich in 2016, he would make his East Anglian move for just £2.5 million, with the Canaries making a huge profit just two years later.

James Maddison became a Premier League star for Leicester

Maddison made an immediate impact as a Leicester player, scoring in a 2-0 win against newly promoted Wolves in just his second league match, with the Foxes picking up their first victory of the 2018/19 campaign.

The playmaker contributed seven goals and seven assists across his first season in the top flight as Leicester went on to finish ninth under Brendan Rodgers after he replaced Claude Puel midway through the term.

And he continued to go from strength to strength under Rodgers, with Maddison flourishing as the Foxes finished in fifth place in successive Premier League seasons, and lifted the FA Cup in 2021.

Competing in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Maddison would leave Leicester at the end of the 2022/23 campaign as a result of the club's shock relegation to the Championship.

Making the switch to Tottenham in the summer of 2023 for a £40 million fee, Maddison played a central role in Spurs' return to the Champions League as a result of their Europa League triumph in May.

The midfielder scored three and assisted three on the way to the all-important final in Bilbao.

Coventry take pride, but Maddison's success will sting

While the Sky Blues take pride in launching the journey of a local boy, a £2.5 million fee for a player who later brought in nearly £60 million in total transfer value will sting.

Coventry were in dire straits in 2016, and Maddison's sale was ultimately both unavoidable and for the best at the time.

Handed his debut as a 17-year-old by then-Coventry manager Steven Pressley, Maddison was considered a top young talent at the club.

"It wasn't a case of shaping his ability, because he had been born with that," said Pressley. "It was about shaping him as a young person, and as an individual, into a footballer who could perform season after season.

"It was about making sure that self-belief and confidence didn't start to become arrogance."

Maddison went on to make 42 appearances for the Sky Blues before his move to Norwich in 2016.

However, it is not just a tale of missed financial opportunities. One of the best talents to emerge from the EFL in recent times came through Coventry's system and went on to shine for one of the clubs considered their biggest rivals, Leicester.

Indicative of his character and potentially how the journey ended too soon, Maddison still carries good ties with both the club and city, while his rapport is high with the fanbase.