Dream Team managers would do well to remember James Maddison’s impressive stats over the last three years

LEICESTER won the FA Cup for the first time in their history in 2021 but the club’s fortunes have steadily declined since that impressive achievement.

The Foxes finished outside of the European places last season and they’re on track for a bottom-half finish this term having lost 12 of their 21 league fixtures – only Southampton have suffered more defeats.

Brendan Rodgers’ side may have let their standards drop in the last two years but James Maddison (£5.4m) has pulled twice his weight from an individual perspective.

GETTYA formidable Dream Team asset[/caption]

Having recently returned from an injury lay-off, the 26-year-old scored upon his first Premier League start since mid-November when he netted against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Leicester’s No10 has scored eight goals and provided four assists in 15 league appearances this season – an immense effort in a struggling team.

Naturally, Maddison’s performances have translated to Dream Team success.

An eight-point haul at Villa Park took his overall total to 76 which puts him 14th among midfielders but the stat to focus on is his average points-per-game of 4.5.

Among midfielders to have played at least three games, Kevin De Bruyne (£7m) is the only asset with a better average than Maddison at the time of writing.

If he can avoid further injury setbacks and enjoy a long run in the team, there should be plenty of points on offer.

Leicester fans will be hoping their No10 can stay fit for the rest of the season

Dream Team managers should always be on the hunt for midfielders who specialise in goal involvements and Maddison fits the bill perfectly.

The England international (just the one cap to date) scored 18 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions last season – there are plenty of out-and-out strikers who looked upon that return with envy.

And the season before that he reached double figures in both metrics too.

Because of his recent injury, Maddison’s ownership currently sits at a very modest 3% so gaffers in need of differential players in hope of gaining ground in their mini-leagues would be wise to consider him.

That being said, Leicester face a tough run of fixtures this month with Spurs, Man United and Arsenal to come in their next three games – although Maddison has a good record against the so-called big six.