Newcastle could ruin Tottenham’s plans to sign James Maddison with a renewed move for the Leicester star.
The former Norwich midfielder is expected to leave the King Power Stadium this summer following the Foxes’ relegation to the Championship. With just one year remaining on his deal, long-term admirers Newcastle emerged as one of the most likely to make a move.
Meanwhile, new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was revealed to be a huge admirer of Maddison and wanted to take him to north London. Their chances of signing him were handed a big boost with the Magpies instead making a big-money move for AC Milan star Sandro Tonali.
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.
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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.
"We should never have been in the position we were, with the players we have. But we take responsibility for that & the negativity that comes with it & continue to stick together."
Should a move not be rubber-stamped before the start of the 2023-24 Championship season, Maddison could be set to play in the second tier for the first time in five years. He would ironically come up against his boyhood club Coventry.
Leicester welcome the beaten play-off finalists to the King Power Stadium on the opening day of the season for the first M69 derby since 2012. The Foxes could also be without the services of Harvey Barnes who is the subject of interest from Tottenham and West Ham.
