Puel backs Maddison to make step up with England

Leicester City manager Claude Puel has backed James Maddison to make an England breakthrough this season.

The £24 million midfielder, who spent half a season on loan at Aberdeen in 2016, has impressed at the Foxes following his summer move from Norwich City. England manager Gareth Southgate watched him in Leicester’s opening 2-1 defeat at Manchester United, and Maddison scored on his home debut against Wolves last week.

Southgate will next week name his squad for the Nations League opener against Spain and friendly with Switzerland, which will be held in Leicester.

Puel said: “James has a modern style and I hope he becomes an international player for the future. He has the quality but for the moment he needs to be focused, to keep the concentration with his club.

“He is at the beginning of his career and we’ll continue to develop him. I hope, like a lot of his team-mates, it will be a good reference for the national team.” Maddison made his England Under-21 debut against Ukraine last November. The 21-yearold, who scored 15 goals for Norwich in the Championship last term, was wanted by Southampton but always had Leicester as his first choice. The Foxes face the Saints at St Mary’s in the Premier League tomorrow.

Puel added: “Maddison was a young player and a lot of teams wanted him. It was a good opportunity for us and him to come and make good progress. We tried to put in place a style of play on the ground with quality, with technical players. It is a good for him because he is not physical, tall or powerful but he has something different.

“When I spoke to him I tried to give him the truth. I like to analyse the player to give him my feelings and feedback and to ask questions about his feelings about his play.

“I like to tell him how he can develop. He has made a lot of progress without the ball already. I like to introduce the project of the club and when we look at Leicester it’s a club which develops young players.”