Irish Sunday Mirror

Tom is Madd for it..

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Oxford v Coventry Today, 12pm

MARK ROBINS is convinced that Tom Bayliss can follow in James Maddison’s footsteps at Coventry.

The Sky Blues chief was delighted that the England Under-19 star penned a new four-year deal at the Ricoh Arena this week.

That has been hailed as a major coup at a club that is slowly emerging from the wreckage of a bitter civil war.

Bayliss is a product of Coventry’s academy system – as was Maddison, who joined Norwich City before securing a £25million move to Premier League Leicester two months ago.

Robins said: “Tom’s a different player to James – totally different.

“Maddison is a magnificen­t player. He’s clever, bright, quick – gets in good areas and scores good goals.

“He sees pictures and things happening before they develop, which is why he’s playing where he is.

“Tom has a bit further to go. But he’s had a phenomenal 12 months. In fact, this time last year he hadn’t made his debut.

“He’s three or four years behind James.

“Tom needs to keep doing what he’s doing. There’s every chance he will develop into a top, top player who can play in the Premier League. He has unbelievab­le pace and energy. “He takes the ball really well. “Tom has improvemen­ts to make, developmen­tally he has to improve his decision-making on the ball and weight of pass. “But he’s clever, focused and will work hard.”

 ??  ?? TALENT Great things are expected of Bayliss
TALENT Great things are expected of Bayliss

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