James Maddison "studied" Man Utd star to score more goals

The Leicester City star has been a surprise addition to England’s World Cup squad.

James Maddison has revealed he studied Bruno Fernandes to improve his goal numbers at Leicester City.

Maddison received a World Cup call-up after his fantastic start to the new campaign. The 25-year-old has scored seven goals in his 13 appearances for the Foxes so far this season.

Having developed into a goalscoring midfielder, Maddison admits he drew inspiration from Fernandes.

“I don’t think there is a player I model myself on now, maybe when I was younger,” he told the press when asked who he emulated.

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“I appreciate all the good players in the Premier League and try to take stuff from players wherever I can. I’m often watching players in my position.

“A couple of seasons ago when I thought to myself ‘how can I score my goals?’ and I wasn’t in the squad, Bruno Fernandes was playing very well for Man Utd and putting up ridiculous numbers in terms of goals and assists.

“So I probably watched him a little bit closer at that time. ‘How is he scoring so many goals and what runs is he making that I’m not?'”

England will kick off their World Cup campaign with a match against Iran on Monday. Maddison and co will then take on the USMNT and Wales in their next group-stage games.