Newcastle United star teases team-mate set for ‘£50m’ summer transfer

Wilson is currently away on England duty with Newcastle team-mate Kieran Trippier for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. Leicester City midfielder James Maddison is also part of the squad amid transfer interest from The Magpies.

The summer transfer window is set to open on Wednesday, June 14 with Newcastle expected to make a bid for Maddison. United saw two bids rejected by Leicester last summer.

The Foxes have seen been relegated from the Premier League with Maddison set to leave the club. Leicester value the player at around £50million after he scored 10 goals and registered nine assists during the 2022-23 campaign.

During a bit of down-time with the England squad, Maddison posted an image of Callum Wilson playing pool against him on his Instagram account.

Newcastle’s ever-confident No. 9 responded with the caption: “Teaching @madders a lesson.”

Maddison and Wilson know each other well having both played for their hometown club Coventry City. They were briefly team-mates before Wilson left to join AFC Bournemouth in 2014.

And Wilson admitted Maddison is ‘up there’ with one of the best free-kick takers he’s played with.

“Throughout my time I’ve seen some good free-kick takers,” he said on the Footballer’s Football Podcast. “James Maddison is up there, he’s got a good free-kick, Tripps at our place.”

Maddison was also part of the England World Cup squad along with Magpies trio Wilson, Trippier and Nick Pope. And the 26-year-old is no stranger to a ‘bit of banter’ with the Newcastle players.

Speaking on England’s Lions’ Den broadcast from Qatar last year, Maddison said: “Me, Cal, Tripps and Popey have been having a bit of banter.

“It’s three on one to be fair of 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.”

Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in Maddison but Newcastle are understood to be leading the race for his signature despite a lack of progress over the last 12 months. They also have the bonus of being able to offer Champions League football for next season.