Dean Jones has claimed on The Done Deal Show that a bid from Tottenham Hotspur for James Maddison may well turn his head.
It’s been reported in the past that Maddison is of interest to Tottenham, as Antonio Conte looks to add more creativity to his side after the arrival of Richarlison earlier in the transfer window.
While Spurs haven’t traditionally been playing with a No 10 under Conte due to the Italian opting for his favoured three-at-the-back formation, Maddison can also play out wide, having done so on several occasions for Leicester City, which could prove to be useful given Spurs are set to be fighting on four fronts this season.
Jones believes that if Spurs lodged an official bid for Maddison, Leicester would have to make a tough decision.
Having earlier claimed that Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers was promised an overhaul in the transfer market that has yet to materialise, Jones suggested that this could have a knock-on effect on Maddison’s future.
He said: “As a result of that [their lack of transfers], you wonder what James Maddison’s thinking and whether – well, there’s no doubt he will have his head turned.
Would Maddison improve Spurs?
Yes!
No!
“If Tottenham were genuinely to table an offer, then it would leave Leicester in a really difficult situation whereby they’d have to decide exactly what would be a good fee to get for him right now. £60m is the amount being bandied around; that’s a lot of money for Tottenham to invest, there’s no doubt about that.
“But we’ve seen them spend big money on Richarlison particularly, that people didn’t see coming – not a player that necessarily is an obvious fit for that Tottenham team.
“And I think that James Maddison would just lift that squad and the optimism of the fanbase to another level at a time when they really are looking to show everyone that this is a team that will not stand still, they want to move forward.”
TIF Thoughts on Spurs’ pursuit of Maddison…
At the beginning of this summer’s transfer window, ENIC pumped £150m into the club’s coffers, which has allowed Spurs to spend lavishly thus far, but with over £90m of that already gone, some exits may have to occur before any more new faces arrive.
There’s no doubt that Maddison would bring huge amounts of creativity to a Spurs side already littered with the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski, who combined for a total of 69 goal involvements in the league last season, while Maddison managed 30 across all competitions alone.