Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for the Leicester City midfielder James Maddison, a target for Newcastle United.
According to the club’s assistant manager Cristian Stellini, Tottenham like James Maddison. And it remains to be seen whether the Londoners are prepared to make an official bid for the 26-year-old, a target for Newcastle United, at the end of the season.
Conte’s assistant Stellini said via Mirror, “We like Maddison. He is an important player in this league, a player with an important type of skill, like his delivery, his crossing, his right foot is a very important foot so he shoots, he crosses, he takes the set-pieces.”
“He is a player you have to take care of. When you play against him, you have to be careful. When you feel how important is this type of skill, for sure you like this type of player. He’s a player with talent. At the moment he’s playing for Leicester, a team we play against. We take care of him like an opponent.”
Maddison is certainly one of the best attacking midfielders in the league, and Tottenham could use someone with his skill set. Most of Tottenham’s midfielders are suited to deeper roles, and Antonio Conte needs to add craft and flair in the middle of the park.
James Maddison could certainly address that problem for the Italian manager. The 26-year-old has eight goals and four assists to his name in the Premier League this season. And those numbers are only going to improve when he is playing alongside better players.
Someone like Harry Kane could certainly use a creator like Maddison behind him. The Tottenham striker has had to drop down in order to create chances and link up with his teammates quite often. And having a reliable playmaker in the midfield will allow Kane to focus on his goal-scoring.
However, Tottenham are not the only club looking to sign the player at the end of the season. And they will face competition from Newcastle United. Newcastle are in a good position to secure Champions League qualification and they will look to improve their squad even further at the end of the season.
The Magpies need to improve their attacking options, and Maddison would be a superb acquisition for them. The 26-year-old deserves to play at a higher level, and Leicester City could be under pressure to cash in on him in the summer. A move to Tottenham or Newcastle would be the ideal step up in the midfielder’s career and it remains to be seen where he ends up.
The player was linked with the move away from the King Power Stadium at the start of the season as well. But Leicester City managed to hold on to him in the end. However, the 26-year-old English international will feel that the time is right for a step up in his career now and the opportunity to join a club in the Champions League could prove to be a tempting option for him.
