Manchester United will be continuing their pursuit for dominance by bolstering key squad positions with quality in the summer transfer window and now a new update from a reliable source has emerged on the club's interest in a Premier League star.
What's the latest on Man United's interest in James Maddison?
According to CBS reporter and transfer expert Ben Jacobs, United are one of the clubs monitoring James Maddison's situation at Leicester City following their relegation from the Premier League this afternoon.
Jacobs took to Twitter on Saturday to reveal:
"A handful of other Premier League clubs also monitoring Maddison. #AFC have other priorities for now, but are aware of his situation. Same for #MUFC.
"Clubs looking at Mason Mount could turn more seriously to Maddison if they fail to land the Chelsea midfielder.
"Maddison price is unclear at this point. Leicester have consistently valued him around £60m, but suitors feel there's a deal to be had around £40-45m due to his contract situation."
Would James Maddison be a better signing than Mason Mount?
Despite a massively disappointing campaign for the Foxes, Maddison has been a stand-out performer in the squad and even earned a spot in Gareth Southgate's England World Cup squad at the end of last year due to his explosive start to the season.
Over 29 Premier League appearances, the 26-year-old ace – hailed a "creative genius" by statistic analyst Statman Dave – has scored ten goals, registered nine assists and created 12 big chances, as well as averaging 2.3 key passes, 2.8 shots on goal and 1.6 successful dribbles per game.
Not only that, when compared with other midfielders in the top five Men's European Leagues – as per FBref – Maddison ranks in the top 1% of his positional peers for non-penalty goals scored, assists, shot-creating actions and touches, proving that he is an incredible attacking presence.
Indeed, the versatile playmaker – dubbed "elite" by impressionist Al Foran – often floats between the midfield and forward line with no strict role in the Leicester team, but could be the perfect alternative for Erik ten Hag if they fail to complete a deal for reported target, Mason Mount.
When comparing the England duo's output over the season so far, it is clear that Maddison has outperformed Mount in a number of attributes including shot-creating actions per 90 (5.05 v 3.11), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.49 v 0.38), progressive passes completed (146 v 98), progressive carries (72 v 48) and shots on target (33.3% v 27.3%).
Defining Maddison's best role and harnessing his skills into a position that perfectly suits Ten Hag's system could save the club millions considering Mount has a reported £80m price tag this summer compared to the £45m valuation for Maddison cited by Jacobs in his tweets.
With that being said, the future is looking bright for Maddison with many clubs interested in snapping up his services and if Man United are serious about signing a player like Mount this summer to improve their attacking presence from midfield, then considering Maddison instead would make perfect sense.