Newcastle United have now got the impression James Maddison would be open to a potential move to Tyneside.
This is according to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, who has been speaking all things transfers on the BBC’s Transfer Gossip Daily show.
It was reported on Saturday that the Toon had lodged a £40m bid for the Leicester City midfielder instantly rejected by the Foxes.
Newcastle have ended their pre-season efforts after back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, but Eddie Howe has yet to see any attacking additions come through the door.
However, with Leicester currently in a financial hole in this summer’s transfer window, Edwards feels there is hope on the Toon’s side to secure the services of the 25-year-old in the coming weeks.
He said: “They’re trying to break that logjam by trying to basically put pressure on them [Leicester] to sell what would be one of their prized assets.
“And I noticed there’s been some comments from Rodgers over the weekend. He certainly hasn’t ruled out selling Maddison, which I think is interesting. So I think Newcastle will go in with a second bid, with an improved bid.
“And I think they have been led to believe – as tends to be the case with these transfer stories – they’ve been led to believe that Maddison wants to make the move. So they will have to decide how much more money they’re willing to pay for him.”
TIF Thoughts on Edwards’ comments…
Last season was a difficult one for the Foxes as they fell away from the race for a spot in Europe, so going into the new campaign, it may not feel like there is too much between Leicester and Newcastle.
Who would you prefer at NUFC this summer?
James Maddison
Harvey Barnes
However, the Magpies do have huge aspirations behind them from their owners, which may be a real attraction for someone like Maddison, with Leicester now being linked to potentially losing some of their best players.
One potential issue for Dan Ashworth in the race for Maddison could be the reported interest from Tottenham Hotspur, who would be able to offer the midfielder Champions League football and the opportunity to work under Antonio Conte – which arguably makes clear that bringing Maddison to Tyneside would be a sizeable coup for Howe.
With Leicester believed to be struggling financially this summer, it will be interesting to see if Newcastle look to make a real push on this potential move in the coming days.