Brendan Rodgers insists Arsenal ‘NEVER made an enquiry’ for James Maddison prior to their £30m move for Martin Odegaard… with Leicester boss confident the club can now keep hold of their best players
- Arsenal explored the possibility of signing James Maddison this summer
- However, they signed Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard in a £30m deal last week
- Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said there was never an enquiry for Maddison
- Rodgers believes the current squad believe the direction of where club is going
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Arsenal never even made an enquiry for midfielder James Maddison this summer, according to Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers.
The Gunners were understood to have explored a number of alternatives to Martin Odegaard this summer – including the 24-year-old Leicester playmaker – before signing the Norwegian in a £30million deal last week.
The England international was reportedly valued at £60m by the Foxes but reports suggested that interested ended when the Gunners were informed their East Midlands counterparts would not budge on that price tag.
Arsenal never made an enquiry for James Maddison, according to Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers
The Gunners reportedly explored alternatives to Martin Odegaard before signing him last week
But speaking ahead of Leicester’s visit to West Ham on Monday, Rodgers insisted speculation surrounding Maddison’s future at the King Power Stadium was nothing more than ‘paper talk’.
‘There have been things this year around James, it was all paper talk, gossip, because there was never an enquiry, never a bid,’ Rodgers said.
Maddison has for the most part been central to a Leicester side that has challenged for the Champions League places in the last two seasons and that won the FA Cup in May.
A move to Arsenal now appears to be over but had he moved to the Emirates Stadium he would have joined the likes of Harry Maguire and Riyad Mahrez in making big-money moves away from Leicester in recent years.
Riyad Mahrez (left) and Harry Maguire (right) have left Leicester in big-money moves in recent seasons
However, former Liverpool boss Rodgers insists his current squad believe in the direction the club is heading and maintains their recent success means they are now more likely to stay put than in previous years.
‘Players have felt the need to move on and further their careers, which is fine, and that’s the nature of the game,’ added Rodgers. ‘It will always happen and some of the biggest clubs in the world will lose their players.
‘You’ve always got to be preparing this pipeline of players going forward so if you do lose them you get the next ones coming in. That’s something we are very clear on as a club.
‘I just think this summer the players have been able to reflect on where we’re at as a team and a club and feel they want to be a part of that, which is great news.’
But Rodgers insist the current squad believe in the direction the club is heading in following their recent success
