Tottenham Hotspur are now frontrunners in the race to sign Leicester City playmaker James Maddison, according to The Athletic.
The report claims that Tottenham and Leicester are currently locked in talks for the England international and are closing in on a deal, which is expected to be reached this week.
Leicester, who were relegated from the Premier League last season have been demanding a £60million fee for Maddison, who is in the final year of his contract while Spurs are willing make an offer worth around £40m upfront plus add-ons.
The agreement over personal terms for Maddison to move to north London are not expected to be an issue with the former Norwich player said to currently earn around £110,000-a-week with the Foxes (Sportrac).
Newcastle, who have had two bids rejected this year for the 26-year-old are still interested, but are instead focusing on completing the signing of AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali along with other names on their shopping list.
It is a big summer transfer window for new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou who has been tasked with revitalising a squad that only managed an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League.
The Lilywhites have already made Dejan Kulusevski’s move a permanent one, and look set to add Guglielmo Vicario to their squad (Fabrizio Romano) as the solution to the goalkeeper issue at the club.
Postecoglou is thought to have told the Spurs board that he needs a new centre-back this summer to bolster a faltering defence (90 Min).
Suffice to say, there are plenty of positions that need work at Tottenham Hotspur, but James Maddison has been described as a ‘priority’ target for Postecoglou (Telegraph).
Maddison’s transfer to Spurs could take a while
Speaking on The Tottenham Way podcast, journalist Tom Barclay shared why he thinks Tottenham are now the best-placed team to secure the signing of Maddison, but explained the transfer may not happen as quickly as some would hope.
He said: “So James Maddison, my information is that Newcastle have cooled their interest on him. That doesn’t mean he would rule out a move to the North East the summer, but it is looking less likely.
“You would say that would make Tottenham frontrunners, but at the same time, the word coming out of Spurs is that they’re prioritising other reinforcements in the team right now.
“They’re very keen on Maddison but it may be more of a wait. He has a year left on his contract, Leicester want around £50 million, but they may have to settle for less.
“Tottenham would want to pay around £10 million less than that. It’s one to watch, I just don’t think it will happen instantly, but Tottenham are in the driving seat on that front.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I don’t mind us taking our time to get other deals done if it means we get the kind of defensive reinforcements we need this summer, but I just hope we don’t take our eye off the ball when it comes to Maddison and lose him to another club.
Charlie Eccleshare’s update is certainly encouraging and would be a huge statement of intent if a deal can get over the line this week.
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