Newcastle: 'World-class' £50m star 'seemed open' to St James' Park move

Newcastle United transfer target James Maddison ‘seemed open’ to a move away from Leicester City this summer, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

Eddie Howe has overseen a quiet few months at St James’ Park but a big-name signing is still a possibility ahead of the September 1 deadline.

Newcastle have launched two sizeable bids for Maddison’s services already this summer and failed in both attempts, the latter of which being worth around £50 million.

Leicester are reportedly asking for £60 million, according to Football Insider, with the 25-year-old a top target of Howe’s.

The Newcastle manager is keen to bolster his attacking options this summer with the club also targeting Leeds winger Jack Harrison and Everton’s Anthony Gordon.

He has only added three new names to his squad since the end of last season with Nick Pope, Matt Targett and Sven Botman all arriving.

Jones understands that the player previously seemed open to moving to St James’ Park which encouraged the Magpies to launch a bid for the player.

He says their hope was to unsettle the situation in the East Midlands but that has not materialised.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “Maddison seemed open to a transfer and so they felt that by making an offer to Leicester they might be able to unsettle things a little bit and force something to happen. It hasn’t worked out that way.”

If Maddison is a top target of Howe’s then it seems like they should at least make one more attempt to sign him before the window closes.

Newcastle are heading in the right direction but Maddison is a player with the potential to take them to another level, given his consistent excellence in and around the penalty area. He has previously been described as world class by England manager