Danny Mills has suggested that Tottenham could be made to pay more money to secure a move for Leicester City midfielder James Maddison this summer due to Christian Eriksen’s transfer situation.
Eriksen, who has only one year remaining on his current £75-000-a-week contract [Spotrac], has cast doubt over his future at Spurs, after revealing his intentions to find a new challenge this summer, according to Danish outlet Ekstra Bladet.
Tottenham could make a move for Maddison from Leicester in a bid to replace Eriksen in their midfield, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side believed to have made an approach for the Englishman following his impressive season with the Foxes, according to the Football Insider.
Mills has suggested that Tottenham’s need to find a replacement for Eriksen could lead to them paying a higher fee for a replacement like Maddison this summer.
“Leicester will have a price for Maddison and I think he’ll be more than £60 million, as they know Tottenham will be looking to replace Eriksen,” the Sky Sports pundit told the Football Insider.
“He would be a good replacement but he is young, unproven and would take a couple of years to get to the consistency levels of Eriksen.
“Tottenham might not have a choice in needing him, as they have their hands tied if Christian Eriksen leaves.”
OPINION
As Mills suggests, Tottenham could find themselves in the unwanted position of having to invest more money in potential midfield signings this summer, due to Eriksen’s public implication that he wants to leave the club. That means that, as Mills rightly points out, were Spurs to make a move for Maddison, Leicester would be expecting to receive a hefty transfer fee for the player who only joined the club last summer. Although Mills believes Maddison would take a few years to develop into the same type of player as Eriksen, the Englishman certainly has shown last season that he has the potential to fill the creative void left by the Denmark international. Pochettino has an excellent record for developing young English talent, and Maddison could flourish under the Argentine’s guidance in North London. Tottenham fans will hope that Daniel Levy does release the sort of transfer funds needed for Spurs to sign Maddison, who could prove to be the ideal player to replace Eriksen.