Champions League qualifiers Newcastle United want to complete a deal for Leicester and England midfielder James Maddison as swiftly as possible to prevent being drawn into a summer-long saga.
The Magpies are not short of attacking options from midfield with Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin, Jacob Murphy, and January signing Anthony Gordon already providing cover in that area.
James Maddison heavily linked with Eddie Howe’s men
The England international is seen as an upgrade to those options, however, and Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano states that Newcastle chiefs will insist on completing a deal this week and not be drawn into a transfer saga with Tottenham also linked.
Newcastle will insist on James Maddison deal this week as they don’t want a long saga — he’s top target but decision has to be made soon. ⚪️⚫️ #NUFC
Tottenham are also working on player side, still pushing and into the race; no bid was submitted last week despite reports. pic.twitter.com/NXyc8aYRqo
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 20, 2023
As written in the Newcastle-based newspaper The Northern Echo, Maddison is believed to prefer a move to Tottenham as he would like to move to London rather than the North East of England. There have been reports that Tottenham had submitted a double bid for Maddison and his Leicester teammate Harvey Barnes but these claims have been rubbished by Romano.
