EPL

Rodgers 'won't be begging' Maddison to stay at Leicester

By Sports Desk February 17, 2023

Brendan Rodgers wants James Maddison to sign a new contract with Leicester City but will not be "begging" the England international to stay.

Leicester signed Maddison from Norwich City in 2018 in a deal reportedly worth £20million and has since gone on to become one of the Premier League's best attacking midfielders.

Although injuries have troubled him this season, Maddison has been involved in 21 goals in his last 19 Premier League starts, scoring 13 and assisting another eight.

His 14 goal involvements in the top flight this term is bettered by only six players, all of whom have played at least 500 minutes more than Maddison.

But his contract is due to expire at the end of June 2024 and Leicester do not appear to be making much progress on a new deal, meaning a sale at the end of the season is increasingly likely.

Rodgers is prepared to move on, however, adamant one player leaving is not a catastrophe.

"It's been a conversation the club have been having with his representatives for a while, so nothing's changed there," Rodgers told reporters ahead of Sunday's trip to Manchester United.

"His contract is clear where it's at. For me, it's about making sure James is playing at the best level he can be, and thankfully he's doing just that. He's staying available and fit.

"It'd be great [if he signed a new deal]. He's a top player in the league, he's shown that in his time here, gradually.

"You can see that development take place. We improve players and give them great conditions to work in, but I won't be begging a player to stay.

"They get great support here and if they've been here, they understand what the club is about. This is a great club, great facilities and they have to understand that.

"But it's a short career and they have to think about the future. I understand what they're thinking."

More pressing than contract talks, however, is the upcoming clash at Old Trafford.

Rodgers expects to have Youri Tielemans, Boubakary Soumare and Maddison – whose record of no goals in eight games against United is his worst record versus any club in the Premier League – available for the match after recent fitness issues.

Leicester head into the game on the back of something of an upturn in form, winning their past two Premier League matches, though they have not won three in a row since January 2021.

Related items

  • Kleindienst receives maiden Germany call-up Kleindienst receives maiden Germany call-up

    Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has handed a first call-up to forward Tim Kleindienst in his latest squad.

    Kleindienst scored 12 Bundesliga goals for Heidenheim last season.

    Those goals propelled Heidenheim to an eighth-place finish, and secured Kleindienst a move to Borussia Monchengladbach.

    Since the start of last season, Kleindienst has contested the most duels (622) and made the most sprints (1216) of any player in the Bundesliga.

    The 29-year-old has already netted twice for his new club, and with West Ham's Niclas Fullkrug out injured, Nagelsmann has given Kleindienst the nod for October's Nations League clashes with Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands. 

    "Kleindienst at Heidenheim performed well over an entire year and he has integrated himself well at his new club Borussia Moenchengladbach," said Nagelsmann.

    "He has earned this. The injury to Fullkrug is a good opportunity to test Tim. He now has to prove himself."

    Marc-Andre ter Stegen's long-term injury, meanwhile, means Oliver Baumann is a likely candidate to start in goal.

    The Hoffenheim goalkeeper will be aged 34 years and 131 days on October 11, when Germany take on Bosnia.

    Should Baumann play, he will become the third-oldest player to make his first appearances for Germany.

    Germany squad in full:

    Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Janis Blaswich (Salzburg), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart); Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen); Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuhrich (VfB Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Borussia Dortmund), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Alexander Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen); Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Monchengladbach).

  • Sturm Graz 0-1 Club Brugge: Tzolis strike seals visitors' first win Sturm Graz 0-1 Club Brugge: Tzolis strike seals visitors' first win

    Christos Tzolis scored the only goal as Club Brugge edged out Sturm Graz 1-0 for their first win in this season's Champions League.

    The Greece international delivered the decisive blow in the 23rd minute at 28 Black Arena on Wednesday.

    Both sides were seeking their first point in the competition, having recorded defeats on matchday one against Borussia Dortmund and Brest respectively.

    Brugge broke through midway through the first half, as Tzolis controlled before firing in off the post from the edge of the penalty area.

    The visitors went close to doubling their lead after the break, but Sturm Graz goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen came to the hosts' rescue with a series of fine saves.

    Urged on by the home fans, Christian Ilzer's side went in search of an equaliser, but it did not arrive as Brugge held out for the points.

    Data Debrief: Third time unlucky for Sturm Graz

    Sturm Graz have now suffered four successive Champions League defeats for the third time in their history.

    Meanwhile, the Austrian side have now lost their last four European matches against Belgian opposition without scoring.

    By contrast, Brugge maintained their perfect record of three straight wins against Austrian opponents, while they have now kept four clean sheets in five Champions League away games - as many as in their previous 22.

    Tzolis' strike came from one of three shots on target, becoming the first Brugge player to register that amount in a single Champions League game since Hans Vanaken did so against Paris Saint-Germain in September 2021.

  • RB Leipzig 2-3 Juventus: Ten-man Bianconeri claim improbable comeback win RB Leipzig 2-3 Juventus: Ten-man Bianconeri claim improbable comeback win

    Ten-man Juventus twice came from behind to stun RB Leipzig 3-2 on Wednesday as Francisco Conceicao's 83rd-minute strike contined the Serie A giants' winning start to their Champions League campaign.

    Juve were reduced to 10 just before the hour mark when goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was sent off for a handball outside the box, having already lost captain Bremer and Nicolas Gonzalez to injury.

    Benjamin Sesko, whose opener was cancelled out by Dusan Vlahovic prior to the red card, quickly restored Leipzig's lead from the penalty spot with his third European goal of the season.

    But Vlahovic came to Juve's rescue again three minutes later, curling a left-footed effort into the top corner to level the game at 2-2.

    And the unlikely turnaround was complete as Conceicao's fine finish gave the Bianconeri all three points in Germany.

    While Juve have six points from six, wasteful Leipzig are still waiting to get off the mark, having been similarly frustrated late on against Atletico Madrid on matchday one.

    Data Debrief: Joy for Juve's 10 men

    It is not a record they will be proud of, but Juventus have had more goalkeepers sent off in the Champions League than any other club, with Di Gregorio the fourth.

    But finally the Bianconeri managed to overcome that setback to earn a positive result. Previous examples had seen Angelo Peruzzi dismissed in a draw with Galatasaray and Edwin van der Sar sent off in a defeat to Panathinaikos, while Gianluigi Buffon's red card against Real Madrid came moments before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a decisive penalty in a two-legged quarter-final, despite Juve winning 3-1 on the night.

    Buffon's moment of madness came in April 2018, and this was Juve's first Champions League win with 10 men since September of the same year against Valencia.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.