Newcastle United given major boost in James Maddison as Leicester City contract ‘update’ emerges

The Magpies have been long-term admirers of Maddison and had bids for the midfielder rejected by the Foxes in the summer. iNews report that although they failed to sign the 26-year-old on that occasion, they will ‘resurrect’ their interest in signing him this summer.

The report suggests that Maddison is ‘unlikely’ to sign a new deal at the King Power Stadium, meaning that he will have just 12 months left on his current contract when the transfer window reopens. Newcastle will aim to take advantage of this and could land Maddison in the summer if they qualify for the Champions League.

Whilst failing to secure a place in European football’s premier competition isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, reported interest from Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in his services mean that Maddison may have a few options to consider this summer. Being able to sell the vision of regular Champions League football will be a huge asset for the Magpies going forward in the transfer market.

The report also states that Maddison is viewed as one of the club’s ‘priority’ targets this summer, one that could be ‘achievable’ in the current market. Leicester City make the trip to face Brentford this weekend before Maddison joins up with the England squad for their games with Italy and Ukraine.

Joining Maddison on international duty will be the Newcastle United duo of Kieran Trippier and Nick Pope after the pair were named in Gareth Southgate’s squad that was released on Thursday afternoon. Maddison was an unused player during the Qatar World Cup and revealed during the tournament that Pope, Trippier and Callum Wilson had bantered with him regarding speculation linking him with a move to Tyneside.

Maddison said: “Me, Cal, Tripps and Popey have been having a bit of banter. It’s three on one to be fair to the Newcastle boys but we've been having a bit of banter about the Boxing Day game coming up and stuff and obviously there was a bit of [transfer] speculation last summer. It’s been good fun, banter as you’d expect with the lads.”