Danny Murphy has urged his former club Liverpool not to move for James Maddison in the summer transfer window.
Graeme Bailey told TEAMtalk last month that he ‘wouldn’t rule out’ the prospect of the Reds trying to sign the Leicester playmaker, while Fabrizio Romano recently wrote that the 26-year-old will ‘100%’ leave the King Power Stadium after the Foxes were relegated from the Premier League (CaughtOffside).
Not even the England international’s contribution of 10 goals and nine assists was enough to prevent the Midlanders from dropping to the Championship (Transfermarkt).
Speaking to talkSPORT, the former Anfield midfielder reckons the ex-Norwich star doesn’t have the aggression to succeed on Merseyside, nor has he truly settled in one position, having adopted six different roles during the 2022/23 campaign (Transfermarkt).
Murphy said of Maddison: “If I was Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp, I wouldn’t take the risk. Although he’s got all those wonderful attributes, I’ve not seen enough of that [punches palm of his other hand], that fire in the belly. He’s not a tackler; he’s not going to go in for 50/50 tackles.
“I just think when you watch footballers, he’s aesthetically pleasing, he’s technically brilliant and he’ll always make things happen and get people off their seats, but does he have the capability of nailing down one position?”
The 26-year-old is valued at a cool £60m by Leicester (90min), so he certainly wouldn’t come cheap for Liverpool or any other prospective suitors.
Murphy’s reservations about Maddison are justified by figures from FBref which rank the Foxes star among the bottom 39% of midfielders over the past 12 months for tackles per game.
That, and the vast asking price, could potentially deter the Reds from seriously pursuing an otherwise impressive playmaker.
You can catch Murphy’s comments on Maddison below (from 4:44), via talkSPORT on YouTube: