James Maddison hints at Arsenal transfer snub to stay at Leicester after getting ‘hunger and motivation back’
JAMES MADDISON says he has rediscovered his hunger for football and is desperate to lead Leicester City to more success.
Despite constant speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal this summer, Maddison insists he couldn’t wait to return to pre-season training with the Foxes.
The 24-year-old suffered a costly dip in form at the end of last season when he returned from a troublesome hip injury.
Maddison was gutted to be left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2020, while Brendan Rodgers only sent him on for a cameo 23 minute appearance when the Foxes won the FA Cup for the first time at Wembley in May.
Rodgers also hinted Maddison could have done more to speed up his return to full fitness, alerting Arsenal to the possibility of prising the midfielder away from the King Power this summer.
However Maddison says he is ready to let his football do the talking after fully recharging his batteries over the summer following a tough season.
He told LCFC TV ahead of the Foxes’ 1-0 pre-season friendly defeat at Wycombe Wanderers last night: “I’m feeling really good.”
“We had quite a long break from the last day of the season to the first day back and you need that break.
“You get that hunger back, the motivation back and you come back almost ready.
“Obviously we got success last year by winning the FA Cup but that doesn’t come by fluke.
“You want to install that winning mentality but it doesn’t come by just saying it out loud – you have to actually do it and put it into practice in training.”
Maddison says that has led to some feisty flare-ups during Foxes’ training sessions – but insists Brendan Rodgers wouldn’t have it any other way.
He revealed: “That’s what he (Rodgers) has reiterated to us from the moment he came in.
“You train how you play, so training is always very competitive, always very intense.
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“There are lots of arguments about certain decisions and what-not – a lot of people wanting to win.
“But that’s the winning mentality that we want to install here so the competitive edge is good news. If we were playing darts out there we would want to win.
“We go into every game wanting to win, as we do with everything in life, because that’s the kind of mentality we’ve created here.”
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