Liverpool, Newcastle told Leicester will find it ‘difficult’ to keep hold of James Maddison

Leicester City are going to find it “difficult” to ward off interest in James Maddison in the summer transfer window, according to Ben Jacobs.

Maddison has been one of few Foxes players to perform well this season with Brendan Rodgers’ side involved in an unexpected relegation scrap.

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The former Norwich City star has entered the final 15 months of his contract and there is expected to be a lot of interest in him at the end of the season.

Leicester paid around £20million to sign Maddison from Norwich in 2018 and even though his current deal expires in 2024, they will look to receive a handsome fee should he depart this summer.

Relegation would significantly weaken their stance, however, with a cut-price deal potentially on the cards if the unthinkable does happen.

Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham have been linked with the 26-year-old in recent months and all three could certainly do with a player like him.

Spurs head coach Antonio Conte doesn’t tend to operate with a no. 10, though he is not expected to be at the helm beyond this season.

Liverpool, on the other hand, will aggressively pursue midfield recruits this summer, while Newcastle lack a player of Maddison’s quality in an attacking midfield position.

According to transfer expert Ben Jacobs, Leicester will struggle to keep hold of Maddison, though Rodgers’ side “would love to offer him a new deal”.

“Difficult for Leicester to hold onto James Maddison,” Jacobs told Steve Wraith when asked about the midfielder’s future at the King Power.

“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 two to three seasons of European football.

“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.”

were linked with Maddison in the summer of 2021 before they signed Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid for around £32m.

While the Leicester man is a superb player, this has turned out to be an incredible decision with Odegaard now captaining Mikel Arteta’s side – who are five points clear on top of the Premier League.

Maddison – who has only played once for England – is valued at €55m (£48.2m) by Transfermarkt.