Ex-Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has advised Jurgen Klopp to bring in Leicester’s James Maddison, who has been strongly linked with Manchester United.
The 22-year-old contributed seven goals and seven assists to the Foxes cause last season while racking up 36 Premier League appearances in total.
The attacking midfielder helped Leicester finish eighth in the final standings and earned himself a place in England’s U-21 squad at this summer’s European Championships, where Aidy Boothroyd’s side suffered an unfortunate group stage exit.
According to The Sun, Manchester United have previously identified Maddison as a transfer target and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer very nearly gave the green light to a £60 million approach last month.
Liverpool legend Nicol has urged Klopp to try and sign the English star, insisting that he ‘makes the starting lineup better’ before conceding the Georginio Wijnaldum would have to be dropped to make room for his arrival.
“Maybe a starter, for me [he would be] a starter, James Maddison,” Nicol told ESPN, as per Metro Sport.
“He’s a player who does, in my opinion, all the things that Klopp wants his middle three to do right now.
“You put him in the middle. I’d suggest because Jordan Henderson’s the captain right now it’d have to be ahead of Gini Wijnaldum.
“I think Wijnaldum starts right now because he has a goal or two in him but for me, Maddison would take over that because he has a goal or two in him [as well].
“He’s a guy that gets around, does the hard work, can get from box to box and has an eye for a pass.
“You’ve got a player coming in [in Maddison] who makes the starting eleven better already.”
Liverpool won the Champions League last season to end Klopp’s barren run without a trophy and they also managed to take the Premier League title race right down to the wire before agonisingly losing out to Manchester City.
The Reds will be aiming to secure a first league title in 30 years in 2020, but they have neglected to make major personnel changes during the summer window.
17-year-old defender Sepp van den Berg has been the only new arrival at Anfield so far, which means there are plenty of funds available to launch a bid for Maddison.
The Leicester attacker could fit in nicely at Liverpool and provide a creative spark in the middle of the park which Klopp has been without since Philippe Coutinho left for Barcelona in January 2018.
