James Maddison should forget about England recall and focus on Leicester City form, says boss Claude Puel

The 22-year-old scored a brilliant goal to help his team earn a 2-0 victory over Watford in the Premier League on Saturday

Leicester boss Claude Puel has urged James Maddison to forget about an England recall for now and instead focus on continuing his fine return to form against Watford.

Maddison scored a brilliant volley in Saturday's 2-0 win - his first goal for more than two months, which came after he was sent off for diving at Brighton last weekend.

October saw Maddison called up for England's Uefa Nations League games against Croatia and Spain in October but did not play, and Puel is eager for his star to keep his eye on club football.

“It's not important for the moment,” Puel insisted when asked about Maddison’s chances of making it back into the England reckoning. “He needs to follow his way, follow his improvement.

“If he gets selected it would be good for him but selection or no selection wouldn't change anything about his improvement and what he needs to continue to perform.

“He has a lot of improvement to make, he scored a great goal but I'm not surprised because he has all the quality to perform like this, but to do this all the time he needs consistency.”

Maddison has made an impressive start to his Premier League career at Leicester (PA)

Puel – who compared Maddison to Glenn Hoddle – also believes his red card at Brighton, with his second yellow card coming for diving, has been a blessing in disguise.

“The sending off was a good thing for him, to take the right decision,” the Frenchman added. “He was very upset with himself and he's a very intelligent player so when he plays with this attitude and the right mentality he is a fantastic player.

“Also he's a young player, he needs to improve step-by-step. He has a lot of quality to perform at a high level but I want him to keep his focus with his team and we can work together.”

Maddison added to Jamie Vardy's early penalty to lift Leicester to eighth in the Premier League while Watford had Etienne Capoue sent off late on for a challenge on Kelechi Iheanacho, though the Hornets will appeal the decision.

“I saw the incident clearly because it was right in front of me,” Watford boss Javi Gracia said. “I would prefer to say nothing but Iheanacho said Capoue didn't touch him. Yes, we will appeal. What happens doesn't depend on me.”