James Maddison: Leicester discover Newcastle stance on third bid for star after double rejection

Leicester City have reportedly found out whether Newcastle United will be making a third offer for one-time England international James Maddison.

The attacking midfielder has two years left on the four-year contract he signed with Leicester back in October 2020. He remains a vital part of the Leicester team and Brendan Rodgers recently said he is ‘not for sale’. This is also the case with French centre-back Wesley Fofana.

Despite Leicester’s reluctance to sell, they have been challenged by big-money bids for Maddison and Fofana in recent weeks.

As per transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea remain in talks over Fofana even though they had a £70million bid rejected last week.

Maddison, meanwhile, has been the subject of two offers from Newcastle. According to Sky Sports, the first came in at £40m.

This fell well short of Leicester’s valuation of the player and due to this the Magpies had to come back with better terms.

On August 2, they sent Rodgers’ side an improved bid worth £50m in total. This was made up of an initial £45m fee, plus £5m in add-ons.

Once again though, this did not meet Leicester’s demands. They will not let Maddison go for less than £60m.

The Northern Echo reveal Newcastle’s stance on a third move for Maddison. They state an increased offer will not happen unless Leicester significantly reduce their demands.

The Foxes are generally in a stable financial position, despite them being yet to sign anyone this summer. As such, they are unlikely to lessen Maddison’s price tag and he now looks set to remain at the King Power.

The report claims Newcastle recruitment officials will keep tabs on Maddison’s situation, just in case anything changes. But they are now targeting other players who will cost less.