NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Gareth Southgate says James Maddison will bring ‘something different’ to England’s World Cup squad and has revealed that he decided to pick the Leicester City midfielder two weeks ago.
The 25-year-old has been in excellent form this season despite his side’s struggles, netting six goals and laying on four assists in 12 appearances.
But he had not been part of a Three Lions squad since November 2019 – when he came on as a sub against Montenegro – and has been repeatedly overlooked by Southgate, with that trend having been expected to continue for Qatar.
England already have a plethora of well-established attacking midfielders, such as Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Mason Mount, while there had been some question marks over Maddison’s off-field behaviour – particularly after he was spotted at a casino after withdrawing from international duty with an illness three years ago.