Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has heaped praise on attacking midfielder James Maddison.

The talented attacker has been at the forefront of the club's improvement in the Premier League this season.

Maddison has emerged as one of the most reliable chance creators for Rodgers.

Leicester are currently in the top four, and will be hoping to maintain that position as they take on Brighton away from home on Saturday.

Rodgers told reporters about Maddison: "If you look at his numbers this season, in terms of the goals he has scored and created, he has shown he is a big-game player. He has scored goals against Liverpool, against Tottenham, against Arsenal.

"The bit I have been really pleased with is the bit people may look at and think he is not so good as to be a No 8, which is the defensive side.

"That wouldn't be the case now. That is the area I have highlighted since coming here, that if he is to play in that position, he needs to be really good at his pressing, intercepting, blocking.

"I'm not massively into stats but when you look into the numbers around that side of his game, he is up nearly 50 per cent in how he presses the game, the number of interceptions he gets, and blocks.

"If you rank him against other players in that position, that puts him alongside the likes of Jordan Henderson. You would never say that with the naked eye.

"I know Jordan, he is a fantastic player, and his big strength is that pressing and how aggressive he is in getting the ball back.

"If you tag onto that his creative side, then what you have is a fantastic football player who is learning and progressing.

"James is among a lot of very good players with England and it's just about preference, whether Gareth [Southgate] and his staff want to pick him, you can see he is at the level.

"If not, he will continue to work. He doesn't expect to play, he's not entitled, but he loves playing and will hopefully get many more caps for his country."