Arsenal confident of stunning £60m James Maddison transfer

Arsenal are pulling out all the stops this summer. A week into the transfer window and the club are making their feelings known with bids being lodged for players left, right and centre. Now, Mikel Arteta’s side think they can sign James Maddison on a deal worth £60m.

Has there ever been a explosion of transfer news quite like it before? Arsenal, famously slow to act in the transfer market, are aiming to get their business done early and are making inroads on a number of targets. Playmaker is key.

Martin Odegaard does not look like he’ll be heading to Arsenal. The club’s number one target is wanted in Spain by Real Madrid who will finally give him the platform to perform at Santiago Bernabeu, prompting an internal rethink. Other targets are being sounded out.

There is a strategy in mind. Firstly, the age profiles that the club are aiming for – which brings cause for optimism – and so too the division they ply their respective trades in. James Maddison was a name few would have expected to be among the main targets, but Arsenal are now confident of striking a deal with Leicester.

Arsenal confident of stunning £60m James Maddison transfer from Leicester in summer window as Martin Odegaard alternative

From being first mentioned through famous ITK account TheAFCBell, outlets across England are linking Arsenal with a move for the 24-year-old, with various statements that Arteta is a huge fan. However, from being just a name at another team, Maddison has now shot up to priority number one.

Brendan Rodgers’ side rejected a whopping £70m for their No. 10 last summer and with Maddison being homegrown, at a good age, Premier League experienced and under contract until 2024, he won’t come cheap.

Arsenal are ‘confident’ they can secure his signature, though, with a package worth in the region of £60m, and that there is an opportunity to strike an agreement. This is per the Daily Mail, whose claims of £60m being enough are echoed by football.london who add that the Foxes demands are somewhere around that figure.

It’s a remarkable development for Arsenal who are primed for significant incomings and departures this summer.

Where Maddison would fit into the squad is clear. Emile Smith Rowe can’t bear the No. 10 burden all on his own given his young age, and nurturing his ability and talent accordingly has to be considered a primary objective. Arsenal absolutely can not rely on their young players to carry the side again, hence why another option in that department is crucial.

Just as Odegaard in January, any arrival will not act as a hindrance to Smith Rowe, but instead work as a means to protect his talent. It is not fair on someone of 20 years old to be bestowed with so much responsibility.

Is Maddison the right man for Arsenal to target? Let’s take a statistical look.

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