Premier League high-flyers in pole position to sign James Maddison

Leicester City suffered yet another disappointing defeat on Saturday as they were beaten 2-1 by fellow strugglers Crystal Palace. 

The Foxes went ahead through Ricardo Pereira’s superb strike, before The Eagles drew level and then secured all three points with a winner deep into added time.

The result leaves Leicester in the Premier League relegation zone, with only two sides below them.

Now, it appears that things could get worse for The Foxes as one of their most important players is being linked with a move to a Premier League rival.

As per Football Insider, Newcastle United are in pole position to land James Maddison this summer.

The report claims that The Magpies are leading a number of other clubs in the race to sign the midfielder, who is set to be out of contract at The King Power Stadium next summer.

Maddison recently made his first start for England

The 26-year-old has reportedly rejected a number of offers from his current employers to extend his contract, and Leicester could therefore opt to sell him this summer rather than losing him for free 12 months later.

As well as Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool are also said to be interested in the England international.

It is claimed that Newcastle have been in pursuit of Maddison for more than a year, and are hoping to complete a deal when the transfer window reopens this summer.

The report suggests that a fee in the region of £60-70 million could be enough to persuade Leicester to part ways with the player this summer.

Last year, The Magpies reportedly submitted a number of bids worth up to £50 million for Maddison, but failed to lure him away from Leicester.

Since joining Leicester from Norwich City back in 2018, Maddison has scored 54 goals and provided 38 assists in 194 matches for the club across all competitions.

Despite his good form in recent seasons, the midfielder only made his full international debut during the recent break, starting England’s 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley.