Your Newcastle United transfer news for Monday, April 3.
Toon faves for Maddison
Newcastle are the front-runners to sign James Maddison this summer, according to Football Insider. Toon chiefs failed with two attempts to sign the Leicester City midfielder last year.
However, the Foxes are plunged into the relegation zone while Newcastle compete at the upper echelons of the table. The England international has been a rare highlight in an otherwise dismal campaign for Leicester, scoring nine goals and creating six more in 20 league appearances.
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Throw in the fact his contract expires in just over 12 months and it appears likely Maddison will leave the King Power Stadium. The report suggests the Magpies are in “pole position” to sign the 26-year-old, with Tottenham Hotspur also expressing interest.
Eddie Howe will likely be in the market for a midfielder following Jonjo Shelvey’s exit in January. As it stands, Newcastle have just four players competing for three places in the engine room.
Signing Howe would ‘love’ at NUFC
Reporter Dean Jones has claimed Howe would “love” to sign Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse. The Saints are currently bottom of the table but, in the tightest relegation battle for years, just one win could lift them out of the wire.
Ward-Prowse would surely be a player vying for a transfer should Southampton go down. Newcastle have previously been linked with the set-piece specialist - who is one behind David Beckham’s all-time Premier League free-kick goal record.
Jones told GiveMeSport: “Yeah, Howe would love a player like Ward-Prowse. He's a safe pair of feet, he can weigh in with moments to decide games and he's been ultra-professional throughout his career. He's been so loyal to Southampton, though.”
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