Newcastle United are unlikely to prise James Maddison away from Leicester City this summer despite their recent attempts.
This has been suggested by insider Ryan Taylor, who has been speaking on his latest YouTube video to discuss the Toon’s transfer hopes.
According to reports on Monday, Eddie Howe’s side were preparing a second bid for the 25-year-old, with the offer said to be north of £40m.
And it has also been suggested the Foxes would be open to hearing out offers for the midfielder, however, it is said they value the player at around £60m.
It later emerged on Tuesday that Leicester had rejected Newcastle’s latest offer, with the Magpies now thought to be deliberating over whether to continue their pursuit of Maddison or look elsewhere.
Speaking prior to reports of the second bid being turned down, it is apparent Taylor has his doubts over the possibility of Maddison making the move to St James’ Park.
He said: “Just from an outside perspective, I don’t really see the need for Leicester to sell Maddison. He is a very productive player that chips in with goals and assists.
“Leicester don’t want to weaken, because they haven’t really strengthened, so I don’t think Leicester will be actively looking to ship Maddison out. I think Brendan Rodgers has made it quite clear that both him and [Wesley] Fofana are very much still considered to be integral players for the club. So I think Maddison to Newcastle is probably unlikely.”
TIF Thoughts on Taylor’s comments…
We think Maddison’s situation is a really interesting one given there are also strong reports suggesting Youri Tielemans could also be set to depart the King Power Stadium at some point this summer.
Do you expect Maddison to join Newcastle?
Yes
No
So perhaps it could be a case of one or the other, and with the Belgian midfielder only having one year left on his deal, it may make more sense to allow Tielemans to leave – despite Maddison’s £60m valuation.
Even if Leicester would allow Maddison to go, reports have suggested that the Toon are unwilling to meet their valuation and that Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring the situation, so it remains unclear how this developing saga will conclude.