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Tottenham have launched an ambitious joint bid to sign two of recently relegated Leicester City’s best players in a double swoop that could help to strengthen the club’s options in midfield and attack.
Having just appointed Ange Postecoglou as their new manager, Tottenham have stepped up their summer recruitment drive and Leicester stars James Maddison and Harvey Barnes have been identified as prime targets, according to reports.
Despite Leicester’s dismal overall campaign in 2022/23, Maddison and Barnes still managed to chip in with an impressive 23 goals and ten assists between them over the course of the season and a number of suitors are believed to be circling for their signatures.
Tottenham’s opening bid to be rebuffed?
With Newcastle, West Ham and Aston Villa among the other clubs with an interest in signing Maddison and Barnes, Leicester City will hope that a bidding war for their prized assets escalates in the summer, and the Foxes are expected to reject Tottenham’s £50m offer for the pair.
Spurs’ bid, which would value Maddison and Barnes at around £25m each, does seem to underrate both players by a considerable amount and the London outfit will need to loosen their purse strings to stand a chance of landing either player during the transfer window.
James Maddison in particular, is believed to be a prime target for Tottenham, though Newcastle United – who can offer the schemer Champions League football next term – are considered the current favourites to sign the 26-year-old.
Maddison has just one year left on his contract and City must cash in on their creative midfielder to avoid losing him for nothing in 12 months’ time. Maddison is currently on international duty with England.
Dynamic Barnes could be a valuable addition
While winger Harvey Barnes has generally attracted less interest than Maddison over the past year, the 25-year-old could prove a smart acquisition for Spurs or any other Premier League side that manages to sign him.
Barnes’s current deal with Leicester runs until the summer of 2025, so the Foxes can play a little more hardball over a fee for the wide attacker, even if they do need to cash in on the Burnley-born forward to balance to the books following their relegation to the Championship.
Barnes has hit double-figure goals in all competition in each of his last three seasons for Leicester and in 2022/23, the flanskman enjoyed the most productive campaign of his career in the Premier League, netting 13 times in 34 top-tier appearances for City.
The attacker hit five goals in his last ten runouts alone, though his efforts weren’t enough to keep Leicester afloat.
Barnes is rarely deployed away from his favoured berth on the left flank and he could offer plenty of threat from that position for Tottenham under new coach Ange Postecoglou. The Australian tactician used a 4-3-3 formation throughout his silver-lined stint with Celtic in Scotland, a set-up that Barnes has the skills to thrive in.
Barnes have been part of the furniture at Leicester since joining the club’s academy as a fresh-faced nine-year-old, though he looks set to end his long association with the Foxes this summer.
Postecoglou will hope to assemble to strongest squad possible ahead of the new campaign having been handed a tough start against Brentford following the announcement of the fixtures for the 2023/23 Premier League season this week.
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