da marjack bet： Newcastle United are leading the race to sign Leicester City midfielder James Maddison this summer, according to reports.
What's the latest on Maddison to Newcastle?
da realsbet： The Premier League playmaker has now entered the final 18 months of his contract at the King Power Stadium and having rejected several new offers to extend his stay, is likely to be on the move during the upcoming window. The England international is currently the Foxes' top-performing offensive player with an average WhoScored match rating of 7.24 and the high level of his performances have been attracting the attention of Eddie Howe for a long period of time.
The Magpies submitted two offers for the 26-year-old last summer worth up to £50m but they were both rejected as a result of them being considerably below the Foxes' £60m valuation. In January, journalist Rudy Galetti revealed that the two parties were previously in talks regarding a potential deal but a move failed to materialise before the deadline meaning that he had to stay put for the remainder of the season. Now though, it sounds like the northeast outfit are about to take yet another bite of the cherry…
According to Football Insider, Newcastle are the "firm favourites" to sign Maddison ahead of the 2023/24 term. The St. James' Park outfit are currently in "pole position" to land their long-term target with sources stating that they view him as a "superstar". PIF are already "laying the groundwork" for an approach, with £60-70m likely to be enough to prise him away from the Midlands.
Leicester now "expect" to lose their standout performer and the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool are also "keeping tabs", but it's the black and whites who are leading the race.
Would Maddison be a good signing for Newcastle?
Maddison has been dubbed a midfield "magician" by Statman Dave and looking at his creativity and remarkable return in the final third, he could be the absolute perfect fit to slot into the centre of Howe's squad at Newcastle.
The Coventry-born talent has racked up 15 goal contributions (nine goals and six assists) in 23 appearances across all competitions this season where he's averaging 2.8 shots and 2.3 key passes per league game, via WhoScored, not to mention that he's also the current second highest free-kick scorer in the top-flight, highlighting how strong he is at set pieces alongside in open play.
Finally, Maddison shares the same agent as both Kieran Trippier and Matty Longstaff so this could potentially give the Magpies even more of an advantage in the race for his signature in the months ahead.