The unseen James Maddison connection inspiring 'Leicester Iniesta' to take SPFL by storm

Sam Braybrooke has already been nicknamed the 'Leicester Iniesta' by his England youth-team pals.

But the Dundee loan ace hopes he can become known as a modern-day Maddison at Dens Park by using his stint in Scotland as a springboard to the Premier League. Dens Park boss Tony Docherty was Derek McInnes’ No.2 at Pittodrie when Aberdeen signed little-known Norwich midfielder James Maddison on a season-long loan from Carrow Road in 2016. The move proved a huge success and helped propel the Canaries kid on to top-flight stardom down south.

Moves to Leicester and Spurs and a place in England’s 2022 World Cup squad all came in the years after his brief spell north of the border. Foxes kid Braybrooke got to know Maddison before he quit last year to join Tottenham in a £40million move. And he hopes he can use his own loan move to follow in his footsteps.

The Dens ace said: “I’ve learned loads from the midfielders at Leicester. I have played with some unbelievable ones who have come and gone like James and Youri Tielemans as well as ones still there like Wilfred Ndidi. There’s no one better to learn from than international players.

“They show you the standards day in, day out, they show you what it takes to become one of the best in the league. When you first train with them it’s an eye opener. You might think you’re not that far off it but it’s still enough to make me go, ‘Wow! That’s the level.’

“They are also always supportive and help you. I spoke to the gaffer about Madders. He said he worked with him at Aberdeen, really enjoyed it.

“I started to realise people have come up here, done well, then gone back down the road and their career has gone skywards. Hopefully I can be next.”