Former Aberdeen loan star James Maddison is thriving at Leicester City – but that comes as no surprise to Dons boss Derek McInnes.
The playmaker is one of the Premier League’s in-form players at the moment with eight goals and six assists in all competitions this year for Leicester City. He’s thriving under Brendan Rodgers, who he faced as a foe once as Aberdeen met Celtic in the 2016 League Cup final.
McInnes recommended Maddison to his current boss then as Aberdeen’s manager isn’t left surprised by the Englishman’s form: “Out of all of the cup finals at Hampden it’s the one that sticks in my throat because we never turned up.
“But for me, James Maddison was our best player. I gave him a free role and he walked out there in front of 50,000 with all the exposure that brings and he thrived on it. He wanted to show that he could deal with the magnitude of the game and he absolutely did.
“He took responsibility and carried the fight to Celtic and I remember saying to Brendan afterwards, ‘he could play in your team’. When I spoke to James on the phone, prior to meeting him, he couldn’t wait to get started. I was bowled over by his enthusiasm and how he had done his homework on us. He was really keen to experience it.
“Some English Championship clubs wanted him but Norwich felt that guaranteed playing time with us would be really beneficial to him. The Scottish Premiership encompasses every league in England. You’ve got clubs who could play in the English Premier League, the Championship and Leagues One and Two.
“That’s a sell for us when we pitch to clubs and players – they’ll get the full experience. We agreed on a six month loan and he was terrific to work with. We were very close to extending it but Alex Neil, who was manager of Norwich, wanted him back down the road and he went back there more rounded and more robust as a player for his experience of playing in Scotland.
“He ended up getting most assists in the Championship and that led to his move to Leicester City. Someone with his talent, creativity and desire is always someone the bigger clubs will look at.”
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