(Football news) James Maddison, who had just one year left on his Leicester contract, was also a target for Newcastle, but the north-eastern club has since shifted its attention to Sandro Tonali of AC Milan.

Prioritising the expansion of Tottenham’s midfield options in preparation for Ange Postecoglou’s inaugural season as manager. This summer, Spurs already paid £17.2 million for custodian Guglielmo Vicario, and Dejan Kulusevski’s loan from Juventus was made permanent.

Despite Leicester being relegated, Maddison’s reputation remains unblemished. He nevertheless managed 10 goals and nine assists in Premier League games alone during a challenging season for the team.  It was an extension of his remarkable body of work from the King Power Stadium. He has become recognised as one of the top attacking midfielders in the Premier League over the course of five seasons. 

The data show that he belongs to the elite. Only two players, Kevin De Bruyne and Trent Alexander-Arnold, have generated more chances in the Premier League since he joined Leicester from Norwich in 2018, and only three players, Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, and Heung Min-Son, have taken more shots on goal.

In terms of assists and major opportunities created, Maddison also places in the top eight. Only 18 players have scored more goals over that time frame (a total of 43).  The facts add up to demonstrate why he was so in demand. Spurs didn’t finally choose a new manager until a few weeks ago. It crystallised Spurs’ transfer priorities since Ange Postecoglou prefers an attack-minded, diligent, and hard-pressing 4-3-3.

There were three obvious voids in the starting XI, but there are other issues because the squad is in such a terrible state. a goalkeeper, a centre defender on the left, and an inventive attacking midfielder.

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