Leicester City have rejected a second bid from Newcastle United for midfielder James Maddison as the Foxes hold out for £60m.
Sky Sports reported earlier that the Magpies offered Leicester £50m for the England international after Eddie Howe made his interest in the midfielder official over the weekend with a £40m bid for Maddison. The Newcastle boss has a desire to bring the 25-year-old to St. James’ Park for the new campaign but the Tyneside club are unlikely to match the Foxes’ valuation of the midfielder.
It is believed that a £60m bid would be considered by Leicester for Maddison, reports 90min, but Brendan Rodgers is standing firm in his insistence that he and the club do not want to sell their star man.
Newcastle are looking to continue talks and are getting some encouragement from intermediaries connected to Maddison, but it is unlikely at this stage they will get near Leicester’s valuation.
The Magpies were seriously interested in signing Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby throughout the window but pulled out due to the high asking price for the Frenchman, which hints that it could be the same regarding Maddison.
Apart from Newcastle, 90min states that Tottenham retains an interest in the England midfielder and are keeping tabs on the 25-year-old’s situation. It is possible that Spurs make a late move for Maddison which would be a great addition to an already brilliant window for Antonio Conte.