Newcastle United are still looking at a potential deal for Leicester City attacking midfielder James Maddison in January.
That is according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, who was speaking to This is Futbol about the latest news from St. James’ Park during the international break.
Newcastle had two bids rejected by the Foxes for Maddison’s services this summer, with the latter bid reported to be worth over £40m.
The 25-year-old, who has been dubbed as “unreal” by Shaun Goodwin, is thought to be valued at closer to £60m by the East Midlands club, with Eddie Howe’s side shelving out around that fee for Real Sociedad and Sweden striker Alexander Isak later in the summer.
And O’Rourke believes that Newcastle are still interested in making a move for Maddison in the winter, and are continuing to monitor the situation.
“If Leicester are continuing to struggle down at the wrong end of the table, they might see it as an opportunity where they can prize Maddison away with a big money offer.
“So yeah, I’m sure Newcastle will be continuing to monitor his situation, and as I said, he still remains a long-term target for the club.”
TIF Thoughts on O’Rourke’s comments
We believe that Newcastle fans will be delighted to hear that the club are still interested in making a move for Maddison this winter, with the one-time England international potentially being another versatile attacking option for Howe, heading into the second-half of the season.
Despite the Foxes sitting bottom of the Premier League table so far this season, the Coventry-born midfielder has been the club’s star performer this term, scoring three goals and providing one assist in six Premier League appearances according to Transfermarkt.
Therefore, we think that Maddison, who has been hailed as ‘sensational’, would be an impressive signing for the Magpies this season, and we think his arrival at St. James’ Park would send a statement out to the rest of the league.