Player’s transfer takes a ‘twist’ as Newcastle plans to extort Tottenham’s open bid
Following Leicester’s relegation, James Maddison’s future is still looking less and less like Leicester, with Newcastle and Tottenham vying for the England playmaker’s services.
Newcastle’s resurrected pursuit of the Leicester star could thwart Tottenham’s efforts to recruit James Maddison.
After the Foxes were demoted to the Championship, it is anticipated that the former Norwich midfielder will leave the King Power Stadium this summer. Longtime admirers Newcastle emerged as one of the most likely to make a move with just one year left on his contract.
Ange Postecoglou, the new manager of Tottenham, was said to be a major fan of Maddison and wanted to bring him to north London. The fact that the Magpies instead made a costly offer for AC Milan striker Sandro Tonali greatly increased their chances of signing him
Whilst they would have the funds to spend on Maddison, FFP limits would rule them out of the race, leaving Spurs with a free run. According to a fresh report from Mail Online, a bid from St James’ Park cannot be ruled out.
It is suggested that Newcastle still believe that they can mount a challenge for Maddison. Leicester have placed a £60m asking price on the midfielder, with Spurs’ opening bid thought to be around half of that.
Maddison was one of the brightest lights of what was a dreadful season for the East Midlands club as their decade-long stint in the Premier League came to an end. The 26-year-old scored 10 goals and notched nine assists in the league alone – the second-most productive season of the England international’s top-flight career.
Writing after Leicester’s final day relegation was confirmed, Maddison said: “Absolutely devastated to be relegated from the Premier League. I’ve took a bit of time to reflect on the outcome of the season and to be honest it doesn’t make it any easier at all.
“This will hurt for a very long time and probably stick with us all forever. But that’s life & it’s about how you bounce back from setbacks & failure and unfortunately that’s exactly what this season was…a failure.
“With the talent we have, we shouldn’t have been in the situation we were. However, we accept responsibility for it and the resulting negative and remain a unit.
Maddison might be forced to play in the lower division for the first time in five years if a transfer is not approved before the 2023–24 Championship season begins. Ironically, he would face Coventry, the team he played for as a youngster.
On the first day of the season, Leicester hosts the defeated play-off finalists at the King Power Stadium for the first M69 derby since 2012. Harvey Barnes, who is the subject of interest from Tottenham and West Ham, might also be unavailable to the Foxes.
