Maddison ‘future is away’ from Leicester ‘crisis’ as Arsenal reignite interest with asking price set
James Maddison is expected to leave Leicester City this summer with Arsenal and Newcastle United both mentioned in a report about the midfielder’s future.
The England international has been the Foxes’ best player in what has been an extremely disappointing season.
He was unfortunately at fault for Bournemouth’s winning goal at the King Power on Saturday, however; leading him to deactivate his Twitter account.
Leicester are without a win in the Premier League in their last eight encounters, losing all but one of those matches.
This has left them staring down the barrel of relegation, which has come as a surprise given the talent in their squad.
Brendan Rodgers lost his job at the start of this month and the club are expected to appoint former Aston Villa and Norwich City boss Dean Smith until the end of the season after talks to appoint ex-Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch fell through.
If Leicester manage to avoid relegation to the Championship, they will probably still lose Maddison this summer, and if they do go down there is no chance he will stay at the King Power.
Arsenal were strongly linked with the England playmaker in the summer of 2021 before Mikel Arteta brought in Martin Odegaard.
The Gunners remain linked with Maddison despite the fact they don’t operate with a No. 10, which is arguably the Foxes star’s best position.
A report from Todo Fichajes states that Arsenal and Newcastle are contemplating a move for Maddison in the summer transfer window.
It is said that the ‘crisis’ at Leicester this season means the 26-year-old’s ‘future is moving further away from the King Power’.
The club’s board will be ‘forced’ to sell their star players at the end of the season, including Maddison.
Leicester will ask for ‘at least’ €70million (£61.3m) in order to let their star player leave.
A move to Newcastle feels a lot more realistic than Arsenal reigniting their interest in the former Coventry City youngster.
Although they are not mentioned in the report, it has been claimed that Liverpool and Tottenham are both interested in signing Maddison.
Liverpool are in dire need of midfield reinforcements this summer with Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all out of contract at the end of 2022-23.
They are also interested in signing Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham and Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
Should Jurgen Klopp’s side miss out on Champions League football – which is looking increasingly likely – they could fail to land the former with Real Madrid and Manchester City also keen.
Newcastle and Manchester United look the most likely to occupy the final two Champions League spots behind Arsenal and Manchester City.
The Magpies’ form under Eddie Howe has been remarkable and qualification for Europe’s premier competition would be absolutely outstanding in his first full season in charge.
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