Aston Villa urged to challenge Tottenham Hotspur in the race for Leicester City midfielder James Maddison

Gary Shaw, an Aston Villa legend, has urged his former club to challenge Tottenham Hotspur in the race for Leicester City star James Maddison.

The England international suffered relegation from the Premier League with the Foxes in the previous campaign. Spurs and Newcastle United have been linked with the 26-year-old.

However, speaking to The Sun, Shaw, who won the European Cup with the Lions in the 1981/82 term, wants Unai Emery’s team to make a move for Maddison. The ex-striker feels the Villans are on the same level as the North London side and the Magpies.

“I’d love to see Villa get in first and have a real go for Maddison. We’re in the same bracket as Spurs and Newcastle, looking to strengthen and challenge for a Champions League spot in the new season.”

Initially, Villa struggled at the start of last season under Steven Gerrard. They were in a relegation battle under the management of the Liverpool icon. However, Emery has turned things around admirably at the Birmingham-based club.

The former Villareal head coach led the Lions to seventh place in the league table in the previous campaign. They finished ahead of us and secured a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

As for Maddison, he was one of the only positives at Leicester last season. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old’s brilliance was not enough to keep the King Power Stadium side in the English top flight.

At Tottenham, the middle of the park has seemingly lacked a quality creative outlet ever since Christian Eriksen’s departure. In the previous campaign, most of our options in the engine room were players who were more defensive-minded.

Rodrigo Bentancur provided support up front at times. Unfortunately, the Uruguay international was sidelined mid-way through the campaign.

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We will be without European football next season. On the other hand, Newcastle will play in the Champions League. But will Villa also have a say in Maddison’s future in the coming weeks? Only time will tell.