'A' celebration nod to group of Chilwell, Grealish & more called 'The Avengers'

James Maddison has revealed that the 'A' celebration performed by a number of footballers after scoring this season is a nod to a secret WhatsApp group between the players.

The Leicester midfielder, along with players such as Ben Chilwell, Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley have all initiated an A with their hands after scoring for their respective Premier League clubs in recent months.

Now, England international Maddison told EA Sports that those players, as well as Tottenham's Dele Alli and Aston Villa's John McGinn, are all in a group called 'The Avengers' on WhatsApp.

'We have a little group chat called The Avengers,' Maddison admitted, to former Hull midfielder David Meyler.

'[It has] Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley, Dele Alli and John McGinn are the footballers [in the WhatsApp group].'

Reports last month did indicate that the celebration was in honour of Chelsea supporter Andrew ‘Woody’ Wood after his death in early October, but those reports now appear to be incorrect.

The Foxes playmaker also spoke about his close friendship with Chilwell, who moved to Chelsea in the summer for £50m.

'Obviously he was my best friend here and welcomed me into the club, I knew him through the England Under-21s and the England set-up anyway,' Maddison says.

'You just have that one guy [at clubs] who's like your best friend who you'll have a coffee with, you'll see outside of football and stuff and that was Chilly [Chilwell] for me...

'We built up a great relationship on and off the pitch.'

Maddison has scored three goals in 11 appearances for Premier League table-toppers Leicester so far this season.

However, the 23-year-old was not picked for Gareth Southgate's latest England squad, with Barkley also missing out despite his good form on-loan at Aston Villa.

But there was space for Chilwell and Grealish, who started and set up a goal in the 3-0 win against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday night.

McGinn, meanwhile, was in the Scotland team which qualified for Euro 2020 after beating Serbia on penalties in Belgrade.