Former Premier League star Steve Howey believes that Leicester City may be willing to cash in on James Maddison this summer amid links with Arsenal.
The Gunners are reportedly pursuing a deal for the Foxes star as they look to strengthen Mikel Arteta’s squad, having already signed Ben White from Brighton & Hove Albion, Albert Sambi Lokonga from Anderlecht, and Nuno Tavares from Benfica.
Leicester are reportedly set to demand as much as £60m for the playmaker, while the Gunners could offer players in exchange in order to make a deal happen.
However, Howey does not believe that Leicester would necessarily be too desperate to keep hold of Maddison, given that he was not exactly Brendan Rodgers’ first-choice last season.
Maddison made just 24 starts in 2020/21 and was even left out of the squad at times, as the Foxes finished outside of the top four and won the FA Cup. The attacking midfielder did not start the final and played just 23 minutes as a substitute.
And Howey thinks that he could be seen as expendable by those at the King Power Stadium.
He told Football FanCast exclusively: “Possibly, I think he showed flashes but not often. I know he picked up a couple of injuries, there were a couple of things off-field which didn’t help.
“But Brendan Rodgers seems to be looking to try and keep his best players but at the same time, there were times when he didn’t start even when he was fit and, of course, that could be cash for Leicester to spend.”