Chelsea decided against making a move for James Maddison
The main reason why Chelsea decided to turn down the chance to sign Tottenham playmaker James Maddison has been revealed in a report by the Daily Telegraph.
The England star was given the green light to leave Leicester City following their relegation from the Premier League last season and Spurs ended up winning the race to sign the midfielder in June after agreeing a £40million deal with the Foxes.
That deal is now looking like an absolute steal, with Maddison already making a massive impact in north London – scoring twice and also adding two assists in just four Premier League games this term.
Meanwhile, Chelsea were also known to be on the hunt for a creative midfielder earlier in the summer but opted to not make a move for Maddison.
And now the Telegraph has revealed that the Blues’ transfer strategy this summer was to sign players who are aged 25 or below, which ruled out a bid for Maddison as he turns 27 in November.
Maddison was on fire again as Spurs routed Burnley 5-2 at Turf Moor on Saturday, with Ange Postecoglou raving about the attacking midfielder after the game.
The Australian said: “I’ve only got to know him recently as a person but he’s a very strong, resilient guy.
“He’s mentally strong and he likes, not to be targeted, but he wants the ball and he wants to be in those situations, he has that quality.
“I thought today was a real testament to Sonny, Madders and Romero. They all scored but those three I’ve thrust into leadership positions and the way they’ve embraced that responsibility with not only words but actions, not just on game day but on a daily basis and that’s as encouraging for me as anything because as fantastic players as they are individually they’ve all really bought into that team ethic.
“Madders is one of those. He is so creative and today he showed how clinical he is in front of goal and his preparedness to work hard for the team I think is a great example.”
Pochettino rues misfiring Chelsea
While Tottenham were cruising to victory, the boos were ringing out at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest.
And Mauricio Pochettino rued his side’s inability to be clinical in front of goal, something Maddison has been in his last two outings for Spurs.
Pochettino said: “We are disappointed because we did everything to try and get a different result but football is about not making mistakes and we made one mistake and paid for that.
“We created many chances but we did not score. This Premier League is really competitive if you don’t score it is difficult to win.
“They didn’t create many chances. We conceded because of our mistake. Disappointed because it was a game that should be a win but we need to be more clinical in front of the goal. We didn’t score and that is why we didn’t win.
“Congratulations to them but we were disappointed because we could not break down their low block.”
Chelsea are not back in action now until September 17 when they head to Bournemouth after the international break.
