“I was at Sunderland before I came to Newcastle, and I was a Sunderland fan growing up,” Maddison told The Athletic. “Then, when I went to Newcastle, I tried to become a part of it there, which wasn’t easy when most of my family are Sunderland fans. I had to ignore all of that.”
“I learned so much from watching Hatem Ben Arfa and hanging around with him,” said Maddison. “We were quite close. The guy could go past anybody with ease. Watching how good guys like him are up close, it’s just amazing. He’s a top footballer and I wanted to be like him.”
Maddison’s career could yet come full circle, as he’s been linked with a move to Sunderland.
The County Durham-born player scored twice in Peterborough’s 3-0 win against the club earlier this season.
“You never know in football,” said Maddison, who has scored 50 league goals for Peterbrough. “It was nice to score against the team who didn’t want me.