Opinion from the stands

West Ham fans rue missed opportunity with Maddison

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Image for West Ham fans rue missed opportunity with Maddison

West Ham fans are rueing the fact that their club turned down the chance to sign Leicester’s James Maddison.

The 22-year-old was signed from Norwich last summer for £22.5m and he has been a big success for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

He’s scored seven goals and added eight assists in 40 appearances and, according to the official Premier League Twitter account, he’s created 50 chances from set-pieces in the Premier League – six more than any other player.

West Ham were strongly linked with Maddison last summer but decided against making a move.

According to Hammers insider ExWHUemployee on The West Ham Fan Show, West Ham decided that he wasn’t good enough and that he was too similar to Manuel Lanzini.

“He was one of about five midfielders they were looking at…  He was scouted against Chelsea but it was considered his performance wasn’t good enough and with Lanzini as well, it was considered we had a player in a similar mould as him.”

That’s looking like a big mistake now, with Maddison settling into the top flight brilliantly, Jamie Carragher saying Liverpool should sign him and Gary Neville saying, “I think he is outstanding. I think he will be playing for England a lot of times.”

Maddison is on £55k-a-week at Leicester [Spotrac].

Here are the best reactions from West Ham fans:

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