Newcastle United are now leading Tottenham in the race to sign Leicester City midfielder James Maddison, according to reports.
The creative midfielder is likely to leave the Foxes in the summer transfer window after .
Maddison, who got the second of his two England caps this campaign, .
A report on Wednesday insisted that Tottenham were currently ahead of Newcastle in the battle to sign Maddison despite no manager or sporting director at the club.
But Football Insider claims that the Magpies are ‘now the frontrunners to seal a box-office summer deal’ for Maddison with Eddie Howe’s side ‘now ahead of Tottenham in the race for the 26-year-old’s signature’.
And now Spurs could struggle to get back on top in the battle with a source telling Football Insider that ‘uncertainty over the next manager and recruitment situation at the London club means the Magpies are now well-placed to agree a deal’.
Newcastle are ‘close to a breakthrough in negotiations with the player’ but the report doesn’t mention how talks with Leicester are progressing.
Former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has encouraged Tottenham to stop haggling over money and get a deal for Maddison over the line.
“I just feel like Spurs shouldn’t make the same mistake they did with Jack Grealish,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider in April.
“They tried to save money and get his price down, and they missed out. Maddison is exactly what they need.”
Ian Wright, meanwhile, reckons that he could see Maddison at Newcastle with the Arsenal legend hoping that he moves to “a team that can transition”.
“Maddison – going to a place like Newcastle, with his energy, he goes somewhere else because that is what’s he about. He’s about those fans and entertainment,” Wright said on Wrighty’s House podcast.
“You look at him with his talent and you can see that when you put him in a team with a front man with great movement. The passes that Maddison will find him with, because he’s so talented.
“You can see him at Newcastle, you can see him with a young Harry Kane and Son [Heung-min]. That’s the kind of people he needs to be around.”
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