Tottenham ‘lead race’ for £40m England playmaker who Arsenal legend ‘can see at Newcastle’
Arsenal legend Ian Wright thinks Leicester City’s James Maddison would suit Newcastle United amidst reported interest from Tottenham.
Maddison is set to leave the Foxes in the summer following their relegation from the Premier League.
Newcastle, Tottenham and Arsenal are all believed to be interested in signing the England midfielder, who is out of contract in 2024.
His contract situation, on top of Leicester’s relegation, means he should be available for a very respectable £40million.
A report from the Mirror says ten players will depart Leicester this summer. The ‘ten-man exodus’ is pushed despite seven of those players, including Youri Tielemans and Caglar Soyuncu, being out of contract.
The other three are Maddison, Wilfried Ndidi and Harvey Barnes, with Maddison expected to be the ‘first out the door’.
It is claimed that the three Premier League clubs mentioned before are interested, though Arsenal are only ‘keeping tabs’ having made West Ham captain Declan Rice their top target.
The Gunners will only pursue Maddison if they ‘offload players and then look to strengthen’, the report adds.
READ MORE: Leicester City’s relegation is a calamity but it must engender change and quick
A move to Newcastle or Spurs would be brilliant for either club, with both crying out for a creative midfielder.
Ex-Arsenal striker Wright has said a switch to St James’ Park would be a good fit for Maddison.
“Maddison – going to a place like Newcastle, with his energy, he goes somewhere else because that is what’s he about. He’s about those fans and entertainment,” he said on Wrighty’s House podcast.
“You look at him with his talent and you can see that when you put him in a team with a front man with great movement. The passes that Maddison will find him with, because he’s so talented.
“I’d love to see him in a team that can transition. You can see someone like him, he can lead the transitional part and he can play out in the right team.
“You can see him at Newcastle, you can see him with a young Harry Kane and Son [Heung-min]. That’s the kind of people he needs to be around.”
The Sun have reported that Spurs and Newcastle are both vying for the signatures of Maddison and Barnes and will ‘battle’ to sign the Leicester pair.
Meanwhile, Football Insider claim the Londoners have made Maddison their ‘top summer target and are already pushing’ to bring him in.
Despite no head coach or director of football being in place, Spurs are ‘leading the race’ to sign the 26-year-old.
It is mentioned that Newcastle are also keen, while Arsenal ‘could enter the race’.
Mikel Arteta was reportedly keen to sign Maddison in 2021 before opting to buy Martin Odegaard after a successful loan spell in the second half of 2020/21.
Although the Leicester playmaker has been brilliant since then, it is safe to say Arteta has not looked back, making the Norwegian, who scored 15 Premier League goals this term, his captain last summer.
READ MORE: Premier League five-year net spend table sees Arsenal double Man City outlay
