Newcastle United know that it's now or never when it comes to bringing James Maddison to St James' Park.
They thought they'd clinched a deal last summer when putting in a £50million bid for the England international but the deal didn't go through after talks with his agent once it got to further discussions. Maddison has been filled in on life at Newcastle thanks to the likes of England pals Nick Pope and Kieran Trippier but there are other teams interested in signing him as he prepares to leave Leicester, the club that put him on the map.
It would appear that Tottenham Hotspur are Newcastle's biggest rivals for Maddison and the London club also hold an interest in another player United have scouted in Harvey Barnes. Whether the Magpies would get themselves in a bidding war for Maddison remains to be seen but it feels unlikely they would grapple with Spurs because Eddie Howe does have other options.
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Maddison is 27 later this year and a big move to somewhere other than Newcastle would almost certainly see the Magpies move on to other targets. Newcastle are moving to the Champions League level now and the calibre of player in the next few years is only going to increase, so this could be Maddison's one chance to join.
But it is definitely the end for Maddison at Leicester and while he wanted to go out on a high by keeping the Foxes up, even a 2-1 win over West Ham wasn't enough due to Everton's last day heroics at Goodison Park. Howe hinted that Newcastle would indeed consider options from relegated clubs during his final Press conference of the season.
His sporting director Dan Ashworth turned up to watch Maddison in the defeat to Liverpool which suggests things are hotting up and the ex-Coventry player's agent has also been on Tyneside recently to add more fuel to the fire. But it will come down to numbers and whether Maddison fits into Newcastle's wage structure.
United can offer Maddison Champions League unlike Spurs, which means that Daniel Levy may have to crank up the wage offer to lure him south. With Arsenal also interested there could even be a North London shoot-out for the winger but Newcastle remain ready to strike in the transfer market one way or another.
