Leicester will really struggle to keep James Maddison this summer amid Tottenham interest

By Ben Evans

Journalist Ben Jacobs has now said that Leicester City are going to really struggle to hold onto Tottenham Hotspur target James Maddison.

Speaking on Steve Wraith’s YouTube channel, Jacobs gave the rundown on a number of transfer stories.

One of the players Jacobs was asked about was James Maddison, who has had a fantastic season with Leicester.

Although Brendan Rodgers’s side are now in real danger of relegation, Maddison’s performances have been one of the bright sparks.

The 26-year-old has nine league goals and five assists, despite missing a third of Leicester’s games this season.

The Foxes are plummeting right now though, and now find themselves in a real relegation scrap.

Jacobs believes Leicester would love to offer Maddison a new contract, but the draw of clubs like Tottenham will likely prove too much for the midfielder.

His future next season almost certainly lies away from the King Power Stadium.

Jacobs says Tottenham target Maddison will leave Leicester

Asked about the one-time England international’s future, Jacobs said: “Difficult for Leicester to hold onto James Maddison.

“Obviously if they go down, they’ll be losing Maddison, there’s no way he’ll stay in the Championship.

“He’s at that point in his career, where off the back of a World Cup where he was called up, he wasn’t fit for large parts of it, but when he recovered and trained he didn’t get any minutes.

“He will be acutely aware that his best chance of being an integral player for the 2026 World Cup is to get 2-3 season of European football.

“Leicester’s not the place to do that at the moment, he had a fantastic season last campaign, a brilliant start to this campaign before he got injured.

“I think there’s a real feeling even though Leicester would love to offer him a new deal, that the time is right for him to leave.

“There’s a range of suitors like Newcastle and Tottenham starting to circle.”

“My personal view is that Leicester may try and get Maddison to sign a new deal, but given where they are in the league table, it’s going to be very difficult for Leicester to hold onto James Maddison.”

Spurs could do with signing Maddison

The £60m midfielder is so different from Antonio Conte’s other options at the club right now.

Happy sitting in between the lines of midfield and attack, the 26-year-old is the central creative spark the team needs.

Jacobs believes Tottenham and Newcastle want Maddison, and Eddie Howe’s side will be a tough team to outbid.

Gabby Agbonlahor has predicted he may end up at St. James’ Park this summer instead of north London.

However, Spurs are much more likely to be able to offer him Champions League football, which could make all the difference.

The arrival of Maddison could allow Harry Kane to take up more advanced positions, which certainly wouldn’t be a bid thing.