‘Wouldn’t fit the bill’: Pundit says £45m Tottenham player wouldn’t be anywhere near as good for Chelsea

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Tottenham secured one of the signings of the summer when they signed James Maddison for £45m.

In hindsight, that looks like a bargain, and it’s hard to believe more clubs weren’t in for the England international at that number.

One team that reportedly turned their noses up at signing Maddison in the summer was Chelsea.

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea refused to sign Maddison because he was over the age of 25 – Chelsea’s reported limit on new recruits, and speaking on ESPN, Shaka Hislop has been reacting to that claim.

Rather than wholly criticising Chelsea’s policy, Hislop was somewhat understanding of Chelsea’s point of view, claiming that based on the position they were in and what they needed, Maddison may not have fit the bill at Stamford Bridge.

Maddison wouldn’t have fit the bill at Chelsea

Hislop shared his verdict on the Tottenham star.

“Maddison was a good player in an average team, you saw that at Leicester when he wasn’t able to do much. Those concerns are absolutely genuine, but he has been outstanding, he really has. He drops so deep and then also finds himself on Son’s shoulder,” Hislop said.

“Chelsea apparently refused to sign him because 25 is their limit and he’s 26,” Hislop was told.

“Well, if that’s their policy that’s their policy. I just don’t think given where Chelsea were and a genuine feeling about James Maddison, he probably wouldn’t fit the bill, but now, all of a sudden, a lot of people shared that opinion of James Maddison, and he has changed opinions,” Hislop said.

Maddison would suit any team

We can’t help but respectfully disagree with Hislop here.

Yes, we can understand the view that Chelsea needed something different this summer, but, at the end of the day, Maddison is a world-class talent who would improve any side.

Mauricio Pochettino has worked wonders with similar sorts of players before – namely Christian Eriksen, and we can’t help but think he’d have made Maddison a star with Chelsea.

It’s fair to say the Blues dropped the ball with this one.