James Maddison has revealed that David Beckham was one of his inspirations for becoming a free-kick taker at Leicester City.
Before signing for Leicester this summer, the 21-year-old showed his skills from dead balls with five goals for Norwich City, Aberdeen and Coventry City.
Maddison says he honed his run-up after watching the former Manchester United midfielder, who is the Premier League's leading scorer from direct free-kicks with 18 goals.
"I always stand with my left foot in front of myself," Maddison says. "I think it's because I used to watch David Beckham when I was growing up, and he used to do the same thing."
Starting from zero
Despite his success from free-kicks, after joining Leicester Maddison had to prove himself all over again to get to the head of the queue when free-kick chances arise.
"Coming to Leicester in the Premier League, you've got a lot of good technical players, so I had to show them what I was about in pre-season to try to worm my way on to free-kicks," he says.
'Crazy feeling'
Maddison was speaking while giving free-kick tips to the singer-songwriter Tom Grennan at Leicester's training ground.
The pair both perform in front of large crowds and discussed how it feels to be serenaded by their fans.
"It's one of the best feelings, especially when you've scored and everyone's singing about you," says Maddison. "It's a crazy feeling."
Grennan says to hear a crowd singing one of his tunes back to him is similarly awe-inspiring.
"It's mad because I write those songs just in a room on my own or in a studio," Grennan says. "They turn from this little thing into a big thing."
Grennan's "Found What I've Been Looking For" tops the Premier League's #NewMusicPlaylist.
