Newcastle United had already proceeded to other transfer targets days before Tottenham Hotspur finally completed a deal for James Maddison.
As the Magpies have shown in the past, with deals like Diego Carlos and Jesse Lingard, Newcastle have their valuations firmly in place on every player. And while Maddison would have been a popular signing for many, United have stuck to their budget plans and refused to get into a bidding war before leaving the room.
It was always going to be now or never with Maddison for Newcastle but despite Leicester's attempts on forcing a steep fee, the Magpies refused to be pushed into a corner. And so Tottenham proved to be the only side willing to pay a ramped-up price for the England international.
A short Tottenham statement read last night: "We are delighted to announce the signing of James Maddison from Leicester City.
"The England international has agreed a deal with the Club that will run until 2028."
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Maddison's sale to Spurs means that the London club have been pushed into a £40million deal plus incentives for a player who was in the last 12 months of his contract with Leicester City. United - who are now looking to announce their deal for Sandro Tonali - halted interest in Maddison last week as they look to tie up deals for a full-back and other key positions.
Eddie Howe and his players return to the training ground next week for the start of testing and pre-season training. Howe will hope that he has at least Italy under-21 star Tonali on board when the pre-season matches commence with a trip to Gateshead although whether any new faces would play against the Tynesiders remains to be seen.
Tonali and Italy U21s departed the European Championships in defeat last night after losing 1-0 to Norway and crashing out of the group stages. It now gives Newcastle a clear shot to get the deal completed for the AC Milan midfielder after most of the formalities were agreed last week.
