Leicester City have received no bids for James Maddison amid interest from Arsenal, manager Brendan Rodgers has claimed. Maddison has been a target for the Gunners this summer and transfer talk has been growing louder of late with reports of a cash-plus-player offer. But Rodgers says Jon Rudkin tells him of any offers and the director of football is yet to bring any news on City’s number 10. There have also been suggestions that Maddison would be open to switch to the Emirates Stadium, but Rodgers says he is happy at City and will not be distracted by talk over his future. He may not time to be distracted after he and his partner welcomed the arrival of a baby boy last Saturday.
Brendan Rodgers said: “He’s a busy young guy now, he’s become a father, so he’s changing nappies and everything else. James doesn’t change. He’s a wonderful young guy to work with. It is what it is, it’s gossip and speculation, so you can’t get too emotional with all of that. He’ll understand it’s the nature of this time of the season, with lots of stories going around. I know he’s very happy here and wants to be here. I haven’t spoken to him on it. I don’t need to speak around gossip and speculation. If anything ever comes to the club, Jon Rudkin will tell me straight away and I will deal with it then. There’s been nothing that’s come my way. As far as I’m concerned, we haven’t had anything for James. He’s a very talented player but also in the bigger picture, you’ve seen it, all clubs lose players but for us it’s not something we worry about. We’re a club that develops players and develops staff. Whenever those players and people develop, they’re always held in high regard.”
Rodgers was also keen to point out how Maddison had benefitted from being at City, the midfielder now a starter for a club in Europe and England international. Three years ago, he had not made his Premier League debut.
Brendan Rodgers said: “There’s a real joy of being here for people, in the workplace and in the environment. What you know about Leicester City, when an organisation is a top organisation, is when players and staff get looked after. If that’s the benchmark, that’s what Leicester is all about, they look after their players and staff. James is a boy who has come here and developed and improved and become a very talented player. He’s improving all the time and still has more improvements to make. And he’s enjoying his time here. Apart from that, there’s not much more to say. For me, there’s not much to add.”
