Newcastle United are battling Tottenham for the signing of Leicester City star James Maddison, according to an update from journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Has Maddison been linked with Newcastle move?
The Foxes were relegated from the Premier League last month and that will lead to a number of top players at the club moving on during the summer transfer window.
Maddison is arguably the star man at the King Power Stadium currently, having scored ten goals and registered nine assists in the league in 2022/23, and his exit is seemingly an absolute given. He has been linked with a number of clubs and Newcastle are one of them, with the Magpies viewing him as a primary summer target.
The £110,000-a-week star could like the idea of moving to St James' Park, especially as the Magpies sealed a top-four finish and a place in next season's Champions League.
It won't be easy for Newcastle to get their man, given the level of interest in him, but a new claim suggests that they are still right in the mix to acquire his signature.
Are Newcastle going to sign Maddison?
Taking to Twitter, Romano claimed that the Magpies and Spurs are "into the race" to snap up Maddison before the start of next season:
"Tottenham and Newcastle are into the race to sign James Maddison. He’s set to leave Leicester, negotiations will take place soon. Postecoglou asked for Maddison but Newcastle are working on this deal since last summer."
This is a really encouraging update surrounding Newcastle's potential move for Maddison, especially as Spurs are unable to promise him Champions League football in 2023/24.
That will surely play a role in the Leicester man's thinking, as he looks to test himself in Europe's best club competition, and also show England manager Gareth Southgate that he is worthy of playing a bigger role at international level moving forward.
Maddison's creative brilliance is summed up his aforementioned goal and assist return this season – he has 55 and 41 for Leicester overall respectively – and he was called "one of the best players" in the Premier League by former Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers earlier in the campaign.
At 26, the attacking midfielder should be heading into his peak years and he would add a different dimension to Newcastle's midfield, acting as a more attacking foil to the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sean Longstaff.
