Prem duo Tottenham have admired a ‘long time’ are ‘definitely on the list’, as side tries to halt pursuit

Transfer insider Dean Jones says Leicester City duo James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, who have “been looked at a long time” will “definitely be on” Tottenham’s list for the summer.

Maddison has long been one of the Foxes’ most influential players. He has never been directly involved in less than 10 goals in coming up to five full seasons at the King Power.

Barnes has also been a tremendous asset over the last few seasons. He scored six goals and provided 10 assists in the Premier League last season and is on course for his best campaign in terms of goals this term.

For Leicester, keeping hold of these sorts of players could be a problem. Indeed, they’re 13th in the league and looked like they could’ve been battling relegation at the start of the season.

The likes of Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and Harry Maguire have all gone on to bigger clubs in recent memory. Leicester will want to stop that happening to Maddison and Barnes.

However, interest from Tottenham could make that tricky. Indeed, transfer insider Jones has confirmed the Premier League giants will be in for the pair in the summer.

“Yeah, they’ll definitely be on the list. They’re players that have been looked at a long time anyway,” he told GIVEMESPORT.

However, with the Foxes’ upturn in form from the start of the campaign, Jones wonders whether maintaining that could help their stars in wanting to stay.

“What will be interesting is to see whether on the back of this turn in form, Leicester can actually convince players to give this project a bit longer for a revival,” he added.

“If they can have a bounce back season for the rest of the term, and take that into the summer, they’ll try to keep these players if they can.”

Maddison is already seen as one of the finest talents in the league, due to the longevity and consistency of his top performances. As such, they might find it hard to hold on to him when a big club like Spurs comes knocking.

They’re already trying to tie him down to a new deal to ensure that doesn’t happen.

There might be more chance of Barnes remaining for a while longer. He’s not been as electric for Maddison for quite as long, but another couple of good seasons could see his eyes wander elsewhere.

There’s obviously a chance that happens sooner, if Tottenham do come in for him. Leicester might find themselves under the cosh come the start of the summer transfer window.

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