Tottenham have ‘slight edge’ in race to sign £60m ‘superstar’ at Hotspur Way
Tottenham Hotspur have the ‘slight edge’ in the two-horse race for Leicester City midfielder James Maddison, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT.
The other potential suitor is Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United, who have the upper hand in terms of European football, though Jones says the playmaker is open-minded to a move to north London.
Tottenham transfer news – James Maddison
Spurs fans will be pleased to know that Ange Postecoglou is delighted with his new club’s pursuit of Maddison, Jones recently told GIVEMESPORT.
But, Football Insider have claimed that Championship new-boys Leicester will demand a fee of £60m for their dynamic midfielder.
Alongside Spurs, Howe and his entourage are also keen on the 26-year-old but want to wrap up a deal this week as they are not willing to partake in a long saga, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Italian journalist told his 15.8 million followers that Tottenham were also working on the player side, though no bid was submitted last week despite reports.
What has Dean Jones said about James Maddison and Tottenham?
Although Newcastle managed to secure Champions League for next season, Jones believes the north London outfit have a superior chance of landing a deal with the Englishman, who former manager Brendan Rodgers labelled a “superstar”.
Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, he said: “Yeah, again, it depends where you get information from on what you’re going to believe but the steer that I’ve had is that Tottenham have the slight edge in terms of signing James Maddison. I think the player is pretty open-minded to it.”
What would James Maddison bring to Tottenham?
On the expectation that Harry Kane remains a Spurs player entering next season, the club’s all-time top scorer will thrive off his fellow countryman’s creativity.
As Kane hunts down Shearer’s league record of 260 goals, the addition of Maddison would drive those numbers up.
The Coventry-born star has been a shining light in a struggling Leicester side for a while and this season just gone was no different. Despite the Foxes succumbing to the drop, the three-cap England international scored 10 goals and racked up nine assists in just 30 games.
In comparison, Tottenham’s highest assistor was Ivan Perisic on eight and, in terms of goals, Maddison drew level with second-placed Heung-min Son who also notched 10.
It’s not just goal contributions that Maddison would inject into this turgid Spurs set-up given he completed 5.48 progressive and 4.25 passes into the final third per 90, according to FBref.
As expected, Maddison topped the WhoScored average match rating list from the King Power side and would have finished just below Kane in second place in the Spurs rankings.
It seems, despite the interest from Newcastle, that Maddison is an optimal chance for Tottenham to sign a creative, goal-hungry, Premier League-proven midfielder. He should be their top priority in the coming weeks.