Newcastle 'trying to take advantage' amid £40m development at St. James' Park

Newcastle United have tabled a bid for Leicester City midfielder James Maddison, transfer insider Dean Jones has confirmed to GiveMeSport.

News emerged on Saturday morning that the Magpies had made a £40m bid for the England international, only to see it rejected by the East Midlands outfit.

It’s claimed by The Telegraph, who reported on the ill-fated offer, that Leicester need to sell players this summer due to Financial Fair Play issues, as well as the fact Brendan Rodgers is currently overseeing an inflated squad.

That would explain why Leicester are yet to make any first-team signings during the transfer window.

However, with the Foxes rebuffing the approach for Maddison, he may be viewed as simply too indispensable to sell this summer.

Nonetheless, Newcastle are said to be weighing up whether they should make an improved bid for Maddison.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones confirmed Newcastle’s offer and revealed they’re hoping to take advantage of Leicester’s financial difficulties.

He said: “The story about Newcastle’s bid for Maddison is right, they are trying to take advantage of the situation at Leicester with finances. I knew they would try to sign a midfielder but this is a step up from the level I thought they would go for.”

Sky Sports have reported that Leicester value Maddison at closer to £60m, so it seems Newcastle would need to increase their offer by around 50% to tempt their Premier League rivals into selling.

That would make Maddison Newcastle’s new club-record signing but there’s no doubting his pedigree at Premier League level. The former Norwich man boasts 33 goals and 25 assists from 133 top flight outings and last season brought his best return of 12 strikes and eight setups.

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