Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis believes James Maddison has all the attributes necessary to become a key player for his beloved Norwich City – but hopes the Canaries allow the talented 19-year-old to remain at Pittodrie until the end of the season.
Maddison has made an instant impression since joining Aberdeen from Norwich on transfer deadline day, chipping in with two goals and three assists in five Scottish Premiership appearances.
The attacking midfielder has also played a prominent role in helping the Dons set up a League Cup final with Celtic at Hampden next month.
Lewis, who came through the ranks at Carrow Road before leaving to join Peterborough United in 2008, grew up supporting Norwich and believes Maddison is proving he is capable of holding down a first team place at Carrow Road with a string of dazzling displays for the Dons.
But, with Maddision’s loan set to expire in January, the goalkeeper hopes the team he supports can be persuaded to keep Maddison at Pittodrie for a little bit longer.
He said: “James is a top player, everyone can see that.
“He’s got a fantastic future ahead of him.
“I’m a Norwich supporter so it’s great for me to see that the club has such a talented player coming through.
“But from an Aberdeen perspective it’s great to be playing with him and Norwich are doing well this season so hopefully they let him stay.
“Can he go on to play for a bigger club than Norwich? I’m the wrong person to ask that question to – there’s nobody bigger.
“He will be a Premier League player, that’s for sure. Hopefully it’s with Norwich.
“You sometimes see people with great ability but who don’t have the mental capacity to deal with playing in top games.
“But he can handle everything that comes with it, he’s calm and level-headed.
“You can give him the ball with a man on him but he’ll turn on a sixpence and be away from him.
“He’s settled in really well here and has been a fantastic signing.
“He is a good lad around the dressing-room too.
“Hopefully we can keep him until the end of the season because he’s been excellent.”
The Dons travel to New Douglas Park to face Martin Canning’s Hamilton this evening ahead of Saturday’s eagerly anticipated encounter with Celtic at Pittodrie.
Lewis added: “All the games we are playing have the same amount of points up for grabs.
“So Hamilton this midweek is just as important as Celtic at the weekend.
“You can’t look further ahead than your next league game.
“We have to approach Hamilton the same way we’ll approach Celtic, with the same enthusiasm and work ethic.
“But we do that anyway, we have a mentally strong group and we’re focused.
“Right now we are going into every game thinking we can win, but we’re not overconfident.
“We have won six games in a row but we want more, we want seven then eight and so on.
“But we’re not complacent because we can get better, we have to keep improving week on week.”