How James Maddison could fare at Arsenal, Man City, Newcastle United or Spurs - according to Football Manager

The subject of James Maddison’s future at Leicester City has been well-versed in the media as the England star looks set for a summer move away from the King Power Stadium.

Maddison will head into the final 12 months of his current deal with the Foxes when this season comes to a close and a whole host of clubs are reportedly keen to test Leicester’s resolve to hold on to one of their key players. With that in mind, 3AddedMinutes has utilised Football Manager 2023 to see how the talented playmaker may fare if he earned a big money summer move.

Newcastle United

A long-term pursuit of Maddison came to a successful conclusion when he made a £45m move to Tyneside and quickly became a key figure within Eddie Howe’s squad.

After marking his Magpies debut with a goal in a 1-1 home draw against Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season, Maddison firmly established himself on the right-hand side of a front three containing Allan Saint-Maximin and Alexander Isak.

Yet for all of their attacking flair, the Magpies suffered a season of inconsistency, winning just six league games before Christmas and going out of the Carabao Cup at the first stage with a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

There was improvement after the festive period but it would be done without Maddison, as the England star suffered a hip injury in a shock 1-0 home defeat against Barnsley in the FA Cup third round. He did not return until the final six weeks of the season when he scored in 1-0 wins against Leeds United and Aston Villa to help his side limp to an eleventh placed finish in the Premier League table. That meant he ended the season with six goals and two assists in just 20 appearances.

That underwhelming performance led to the sacking of Eddie Howe and he was replaced by former OGC Nice and Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre at the end of the season.

Arsenal

A £45m deal took the England star to Arsenal as the Gunners fought off competition from several clubs to land Maddison.

Maddison was immediately handed a role in the centre of the Gunners midfield and was used as an advanced playmaker alongside Martin Odegaard, with Thomas Partey providing some defensive solidity in a deeper role.

After setting up a goal for Bukayo Saka in a 1-1 draw at West Ham United on his debut, Maddison enjoyed a promising start his Gunners career as his new side lost just one of their opening 10 games to thrust themselves into the title race.

Reverting between his central role in midfield and a position on the right-hand side of a front three, Maddison continued to help the Gunners progress on four fronts, before they wasted a chance to land a trophy when they were beaten by Chelsea in a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final.

An FA Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Manchester City and a Europa League quarter-final loss against Atletico Madrid ended hopes of silverware but Maddison did at least help the Gunners qualify for the Champions League as they finished in third place behind Liverpool and City.

A return of six goals and 12 assists indicated a promising first season at the Emirates Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur

Maddison made a £45m move to Spurs in what can only be described as a poor error of judgement given how the season panned out.

Maddison struggled to work his way into the side on a regular basis with Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski preferred in attacking positions and Rodrigo Bentancur and Oliver Skipp monopolising the midfield pairing. However, he did score in the penultimate game of the season as his side kept alive their slim hopes of gatecrashing the top four with a 1-0 win against Fulham.

But a final day defeat at Wolves, coupled with Chelsea’s 7-1 demolition of Bournemouth left Maddison’s side six points shy of the Champions League spots.

Early exits from the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League only added to what was a season of personal disappointment for Maddison as he made just four starts and spent the majority of the season watching on from the sidelines.

Manchester City

It probably won’t be a surprise to anyone to know Maddison enjoyed the most success working under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

Featuring in a mouth-watering midfield trio with Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, the England star became a regular feature in big games and was rotated in and out of Pep’s side when the fixture schedule allowed.

It was to be a busy schedule too, although City did exit the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle as a youthful side fell to a 4-0 loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers. But Maddison more than played a part in progressing City into the final stages of the FA Cup and Champions League, as well as helping them retain their Premier League title with a 12-point gap to nearest challengers Liverpool.

The domestic double was completed as Maddison watched on from the Wembley sidelines as his side claimed a 2-0 FA Cup Final win over arch rivals Manchester United but the historic treble evaded them and Chelsea (yes, Chelsea!) secured the Champions League by inflicting a penalty shoot-out defeat on City.

Maddison ended the season with six goals and seven assists in 31 appearances in all competitions.

Leicester City

Having snubbed offers to move away from the King Power Stadium, Maddison remained a key player with the Foxes - although they endured an underwhelming season under new manager Rafa Benitez.

A disasterous start to the campaign set the tone as the Foxes won just two of their opening 13 Premier League fixtures to end October sat in the bottom three. A 1-0 win at Brighton brought progress in the Carabao Cup and they made their way to the quarter-final before losing out to Newcastle United. An FA Cup run also ended on Tyneside with a 3-2 defeat in the fifth round to leave Benitez’s men focusing on their relegation battle.

Maddison came to the fore scoring in wins against Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Leeds United to lead his side away from the bottom three and into 13th position when the final day of the season arrived. That meant he ended the season with six goals and four assists in 27 appearances in all competitions - but interest from Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Athletico Madrid means his time at Leicester could come to an end.