Newcastle United strengthen between the sticks with the signing of Nick Pope from Burnley and bolstered their defence with the signings of Matt Targett from Aston Villa and Sven Botman from LOSC Lille, but they haven’t brought in a midfielder after letting Isaac Hayden join Norwich City and Jeff Hendrick join Reading.
Eddie Howe has his eye on James Maddison of Leicester City, but John Percy of the Telegraph says Newcastle recently had a bid rejected. The Magpies offered the Foxes £40m for Maddison but were rebuffed. Leicester haven’t made a signing this summer, so they may be reticent letting talented players leave without replacements being lined up, but Newcastle shouldn’t give in.
Maddison has made 170 appearances in all competitions since joining Leicester from Norwich in 2018, scoring 45 goals with 32 assists. The 25-year-old is coming off the back of his most prolific season too, netting 18 goals with 12 assists from 53 games, so it’s easy to see why Newcastle want him.
Maddison scored more Premier League goals (12) than Callum Wilson (8) and made more assists (8) than Allan Saint-Maximin, so he’d be a brilliant addition to the midfield. Whether Newcastle’s pursuit is successful remains to be seen, however.
In other news, Frank McAvennie says Allan Saint-Maximin will stay at Newcastle
