Tottenham Hotspur could sign James Maddison – and now even Brendan Rodgers has admitted that his talisman could leave.
Maddison has been in scintillating form this season for the Foxes, earning a place in Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad before the winter break and helping to drag Rodgers' struggling side away from the drop zone. The No.10 has long been linked with Spurs, along with Arsenal and Newcastle United, with performances this season only intensifying rumours of a step up to a club in Europe.
Now, Rodgers – who inherited Maddison when he took over at the King Power Stadium in 2019 – has dropped what football.london have described as a "huge hint" that an exit for his star man could be imminent.
"It’s getting more difficult," Rodgers told reporters. "The financial resources, not just in the top six, makes it really difficult. Clubs have multiple injections of finances. We have one owner and one family.
"Each year it gets tougher. It doesn’t soften our ambition to be super competitive.”
Previously, Leicester were adament that Maddison wasn't for sale, reportedly rebuffing Arsenal in 2021 when they were on the hunt for a creative force in midfield. The East Midlanders apparently demanded around £60 million back then, with Mikel Arteta and co. opting to pull out of a deal and target Martin Odegaard for half the price.
With Tottenham sorely lacking creativity right now and fans irritated with the ownership and their lack of investment, Maddison would be the perfect answer to the discontent. The Lilywhites apparently only have around £30m to spend this month, however.
With top four no certainty this season, Spurs' board may well follow last summer's example of investing more money into the playing squad in order to back Antonio Conte.
Maddison is valued at €55m by Transfermarkt.
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In addition to apparently battling Barcelona for Ounahi, Spurs are said to be interested in out-of-favour Barca midfielder Franck Kessie – who only moved to the Camp Nou last summer.
Red-hot Rennes striker Martin Terrier has also been linked with a switch to North London, although Spurs could face competition from Manchester United for the Frenchman.
