James Maddison's views on Tottenham Hotspur have resurfaced with the midfielder deleting tweets expressing previous disdain for his new club.
It was inevitable that the much-sought after Maddison, 26, would leave Leicester after the club were relegated from the Premier League in the 2022/23 season. Newcastle seemed to be leading the pursuit for the England international, but now Spurs have swooped with the two parties having seemingly agreed a deal.
It means Maddison will become part of Ange Postecoglou's rebuild in north London, and the signing will be viewed as a statement of intent from the former Celtic boss. It's perhaps a scenario the player himself would not have envisaged though back in 2012, when he was a 15-year-old attached to Coventry City's youth set up.
Taking aim at Tottenham's biggest star that season, he tweeted a rather debatable view: "I hate Gareth Bale with a passion, calm down you monkey, [Jack] Wilshere is 10x better than you chimpanzee," he wrote.
He wasn't done there, again taking to social media in March 2013 to abuse Bale ahead of Tottenham's away game with Liverpool at Anfield: "Hope Luis Suarez destroys Tottenham today, don't like Spurs! Especially that monkey everyone's on about!"
That day, Maddison ultimately got his wish. Suarez scored the opening goal and then won a late penalty which Steven Gerrard converted to give the Red a 3-2 win. Both posts have since been banished, although not before they were widely shared by fans noting the irony of recent developments.
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Of course, should Maddison flourish in a Tottenham shirt, his past misdemeanours are likely to be forgotten by the club faithful. He's set to receive around £170,000 a week once his move is finalised, and will become Postecoglou's second signing after Dejan Kulusevski made his loan move permanent.
Despite Leicester's struggles, Maddison scored ten times and provided nine assists in the Premier League last season. And his form was enough to secure a spot in Gareth Southgate's squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It represented a first international call-up for the FA Cup winner in three years. However, he failed to add to his previous three caps as he failed to play a single minute of the tournament.
