Newcastle haven’t given up hope of signing James Maddison this summer and have reportedly tabled a second bid for the Leicester playmaker.
The Magpies saw a £40m bid for the midfielder rejected by the Foxes last week but a report on Monday claimed Brendan Rodgers’ side would ‘cash in’ if they received an offer of £60m.
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Newcastle have improved on their opening offer, according to Luke Edwards of the Daily Telegraph, but the fee again falls short of Leicester’s valuation.
He claims the bid is ‘in excess of £45m but payments are staggered’, before admitting that although Maddison apparently ‘wants to leave’ he could in fact be pushing Leicester into offering him an improved contract.
Following their 1-0 preseason win over Sevilla, Rodgers responded to reports of interest in Maddison, claiming Newcastle were well short of what he believes the midfielder to be worth.
Rodgers said: “He’s still very much a player here. Naturally the players are sought after because they are talents. You see his performance, you see how happy he is and he’s not a player we want to sell.
“It’s not for me to put valuations on the players, it’s not my side, but that might just cover three-quarters of his left leg, that price. He’s a top player.”
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is moving to improve his forward options having reinforced his defence early in the summer transfer window.
Aston Villa full-back Matt Targett’s loan move has been made permanent, while they’ve also landed Burnley keeper Nick Pope and Lille defender Sven Botman.
But efforts to bolster his frontline have so far been frustrated with just days to go before the new Premier League season gets under way against promoted Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Reims frontman Hugo Ekitike chose to join Paris St Germain despite Newcastle’s long-standing interest while Moussa Diaby opted to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, and alternatives have proved equally elusive.
Maddison is one of a series of potential targets currently under consideration, with Chelsea striker Timo Werner and Burnley’s Maxwel Cornet also in the Magpies’ sights, although the need to stay within spending guidelines and the desire not to shatter the club’s wage structure despite the wealth of their Saudi-backed owners remain key.
Howe admits that as much as he wanted to get all his signings in before the start of the…
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