James Madison revealed that he was studying Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes in an effort to improve his own game.
The Leicester city The midfielder has been in sensational form this season and made a late successful bid to be included Gareth SouthgateEngland’s World Cup squad after a three-year hiatus.
Rather than dwell on the reasons behind his continued exclusion, Maddison tried to refine his game in an attempt to force Southgate’s hand and by keeping a close eye on United playmaker Fernandes helped his case.
“A few seasons ago, when I wasn’t in the England squad, Bruno Fernandes was playing really well for Manchester United and putting in ridiculous numbers in terms of goals and assists,” Maddison told reporters.
“So I probably kept a closer eye on him then. How can he score so many goals? What makes he that I am not?’. If that makes me a student of the game, then I am.’
He added: “I watch every game. My house is football crazy. My girlfriend is going crazy because I watch so much. During the lockdown, when there were four games a day, I had them all on.
“I don’t think there’s a player I model my game on now – maybe when I was younger. I appreciate all the good players in the Premier League.
“I try to take something from every player I watch, whether they are of a higher, the same or lower level. When I watch a game on TV, I often watch players in my position.
‘I’m a football guy. I’ve said that many times. Because I just love the game. In my head I am still that little boy who is kicking the ball around in the garden [England] make-up on.’
After receiving confirmation of his call-up last week, Maddison appeared to have suffered heartbreak after limping Leicester’s match against West Ham shortly after opening the scoring.
However, the 25-year-old has allayed fears he may be injured and is eager to go after making it through Wednesday’s training unscathed.
He said, ‘It’s okay. We had a scan the day before we met. It was a positive scan.
“I had a little problem leading up to the game against West Ham and after the game against Everton, which was for us the week before. I wanted to play, I didn’t want to try because of the World Cup. That’s not the person I am.
“I didn’t want to have that attitude, I wanted to help Leicester because the focus was still there [I] managed to score early and then keep going.
“But there was a little bit of pain and it got a little bit worse as the game went on, so I thought it was probably best for me to get off and get someone else who wouldn’t have that problem completely. sprint and that in full scope.
“We’ve had the scan since then, it was a good scan. It wasn’t a big deal. I have to do some work to keep up with the physios here, but that shouldn’t be a problem.’
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