Brendan Rodgers sends James Maddison message to Gareth Southgate after Everton win

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Brendan Rodgers sends James Maddison message to Gareth Southgate after Everton win

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has warned England's Gareth Southgate that including James Maddison in his World Cup squad should not even be a debate.

25-year-old Maddison, who has not been involved at international level since November 2019, ended last season on a tear and has maintained that form this season, with six goals and four assists in 12 games.

He set up both goals in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Everton, after which Rodgers called on Southgate to end Maddison's England exile.

“For me, it’s not a debate, that’s the reality," he told Sky Sports.

“There are so many top players and it’s great to see so many attacking players doing really well but if you can’t find a [spot for a] player of that quality that has produced consistently over the last 18 months then it’s obviously sad in terms of a footballing perspective.

"You saw tonight, his ability on the ball, his awareness, his cleverness. You want to be creating goals, scoring goals and he’s one of the best at that.

“He’s a player that has risk in his game but has risk at the right moments. He assists tonight and probably unfortunate not to score towards the end.

“An absolutely brilliant player who’s ready for a World Cup with his maturity. He’s 25 years of age and he’s performing like that, week in, week out in the Premier League and for him, he can do no more. He’s an outstanding talent.”