Leicester City never looked back after £22.5m Norwich City agreement: View | OneFootball

The signing of James Maddison in 2018 was an exciting addition to Leicester City’s squad.

The playmaker arrived in a deal worth £22.5 million, signing from Norwich City.

Maddison was a standout player in the Championship in the 2017-18 season, contributing 14 goals and eight assists as the Canaries finished only 14th (all stats from Fbref).

The Foxes had a promising 2017-18 term of their own, with Claude Puel overseeing their rise back to ninth in the table after a difficult start to the season.

But the club needed something extra, another threat in attack, to bridge the gap to the increasing gap between the top six and the rest.

James Maddison’s immediate Leicester impact

Maddison was the big-name signing of the 2018 summer window, with the likes of Ricardo Pereira, Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu also joining the club.

The England international made an immediate impact in the team, scoring in a 2-0 win over Wolves in just his second league game for the Foxes, the side’s first victory of the campaign.

Another two goals quickly followed in games against Bournemouth and Huddersfield Town, as well as an assist in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool.

Leicester finished ninth yet again, this time under Brendan Rodgers.

Maddison really went from strength to strength under the Northern Irishman, playing consistently in the side as they earned back-to-back fifth place finishes in the Premier League.

The team narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification two times in a row, but the Europa League was still a solid consolation prize, with an impressive FA Cup triumph coming in 2021 as well.

It was in the aftermath of that 2021 FA Cup victory that Maddison really took it up another level, stepping up as a true leader of the team.

He contributed an impressive 22 goals and 17 assists across two seasons as the side started to otherwise struggle for consistent results.

This led to him receiving a call-up to the England squad, where he went on to compete in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Leicester’s regret over summer exit

Leicester’s relegation sealed Maddison’s exit from the King Power stadium, with Tottenham agreeing a £40 million deal for the midfielder.

That was almost double the fee paid to sign him in 2018, a figure that Leicester will now look back on with no regret.

However, the manner of his exit was bittersweet despite the size of the fee as it could’ve risen to £50 or 60 million had the club remained in the Premier League.

The mismanagement of the Foxes led to their demise from the top flight, and the financial issues that now jeopardise their attempts to go straight back up could have been solved with that extra bit of money coming in from his sale, as well as other first team talent that left last summer.

Meanwhile, Maddison is now starring for Spurs as they challenge for Champions League qualification, showing everyone what Leicester supporters already knew about his immense talent.