Leicester City have “opened” contract talks to tie down Newcastle United target James Maddison, according to LeicesterLive. ChronicleLive understands the Magpies had two bids - the highest in the region of £45million - rejected for the 25-year-old.
The England international has two years left on his current deal and Brendan Rodgers has previously hinted that Leicester may be forced to offload players. As it stands, the Foxes are the only Premier League club yet to spend a penny in the transfer market.
Offloading their star player would have been a grudging way to free up cash but reports suggest Leicester want to keep him at the King Power Stadium. Our sister title claims they are aware of Maddison’s contract situation and want to avoid a similar situation to Youri Tielemans.
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The Belgian is down to the final 12 months of his deal and Leicester are desperate to keep their midfield talisman amid interest from Arsenal. Toon chiefs know Maddison could be available on the cheap next summer which is why there is a reluctance to meet the Foxes’ reported £60million price tag.
Rodgers reiterated to the press in midweek about the club’s desire to keep ahold of their prized asset. He said: “Jon (Rudkin, director of football) has spoken to them (Maddison’s representatives) a number of times. I’m pretty sure the club would want to do that (but) both sides have to be able to find an agreement. James, with two years left… naturally the club would want to protect their asset. But it works both ways. Sometimes, everything goes onto the club.
“If a player, not saying James, doesn’t want to sign it, then it can be a stalemate. But absolutely, he’s an outstanding player and, of course, Leicester would benefit from keeping him. He’s been brilliant. He’s a top-class player. Against Arsenal, in the spells where he had the ball, he looked like the most dangerous player. He scored a very good goal.
“He’s improving, developing, and happy. Of course, he’s a top player, so people will be interested in him, but I’ve seen no change in him whatsoever.”
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