Former Coventry City boss Steven Pressley has revealed that Arsenal and Liverpool were close to signing James Maddison before the Norwich City loanee suffered a serious injury in December 2014. 

The 19-year-old, who joined Aberdeen from Norwich City on a loan deal until January in the summer, has already made his mark in Scotland, with the youngster scoring a stunning last-minute free-kick to help the Dons beat Rangers 2-1 last weekend.




Maddison played under Pressley at Coventry, and the attacking midfielder’s impressive performances for the Sky Blues attracted the interest of Arsenal and Liverpool.

But the teenager’s move to the Gunners or the Reds never materialised after he picked up a serious injury before the January transfer window in the 2014/15 campaign.
 


Maddison then joined Norwich in January 2015, but was sent back to Coventry for the remainder of the season as a part of the deal.

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And Pressley, who thinks Aberdeen have signed a “big talent” in Maddison, feels the youngster would have moved to Arsenal or Liverpool if he had not suffered the injury setback.

“He has already made a big impression at Aberdeen in the short time that he has been there and I think there is a lot more to come from him at Pittodrie this season.

"They have signed a big talent”, Pressley was quoted as saying by the Herald Scotland.

“Despite being so young, he can dictate the speed of games. He can adapt to many positions. When I was there we played him in central midfield, as a No.10 and also out wide.

“He is very versatile. He has a great football brain and can control the speed of a game even though he is very young.

“There was a lot of interest in him long before he went to Norwich this year.

"He picked up an unfortunate ankle injury just when a number of clubs were ready to pounce last year.

“Big clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool were in the advanced stages of recruitment with him.

"It was quite a bad injury that he got before that January window and he missed out on his move.”

Pressley further backed Maddison, who has scored twice in four appearances in all competitions for Aberdeen, to hit the ground running in the Premier League in the future.

“If I had got more time with him at Coventry I would have shaped the team around him. That is the type of player he is”, Pressley continued.

“I think he is more than capable of gracing the Premier League in England in the future if he continues to develop the way he has and maintains his levels of commitment and application.”