Tottenham have made a big mistake in their pursuit for a central midfielder. The Lilywhites recently withdrew their interest in Barcelona’s Andre Gomes and turned their attention to Leicester City’s James Maddison, but Spurs may have to pay an extortionate amount to bring him to London.
According to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, Leicester want £60m for the 22-year-old and Arsenal now want to battle Tottenham for his signature. Maddison joined the Foxes for £22.5m last summer, but his valuation has risen by 167% in less than 12 months. It’s hard to see Spurs meeting his lofty price, so Mauricio Pochettino may have staked Daniel Levy’s money on the wrong horse.
Maddison would be a fantastic signing. The midfielder is coming off the back of an outstanding Premier League season that saw him contribute 14 goals in 36 games, create 100 chances, make 50 successful dribbles (68%), average 39 passes-per-game with 84% accuracy and whip in 205 crosses with 33% accuracy.
Pochettino has developed a lot of young English at Tottenham already and would surely love a player like Maddison at the club. Unfortunately, Leicester have no desire to let him leave for cheap as his contract at the King Power Stadium runs until 2023.