Maddison and Barnes set for immediate Premier League return as Spurs and Newcastle battle for BOTH in summer transfers
TOTTENHAM are battling Newcastle for both James Maddison AND Harvey Barnes.
Both midfielders are set to leave Leicester following Sunday’s relegation.
And while other clubs are also in the hunt for the pair, SunSport understands it is Spurs and the Toon who are pushing hardest.
Both are expected to command fees of around £40million, with England star Maddison out of contract at the end of next season.
Though the Foxes would hope any kind of bidding war would drive up the price further.
Leicester would prefer quicker sales so they can put any cash raised towards rebuilding their squad to take on the Championship next term.
The 2016 Premier League champions are in need of a refresh, though it is believed they will look to build around the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Boubakary Soumare next term.
Hamza Choudhury, who spent this season on loan at Watford, will also come back into the mix.
Youri Tielemans and Caglar Soyuncu are leaving on free transfers when their contracts expire at the end of next month.
Maddison has been a long-term target for both Newcastle and Tottenham, with the former having a bid rejected last summer.
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The 26-year-old had a stellar season despite his club’s demise, scoring ten goals and grabbing nine assists in the Premier League. He also earned an England recall.
Barnes, 25, hit double figures in the league with 13 strikes.
Newcastle are mindful of FFP rules despite their Saudi oil rich reserves, though they have the added advantage of qualifying for the Champions League.
Spurs failed to qualify for Europe at all, finishing eighth, and have no permanent manager or director of football in post.
Cristian Stellini, who was assistant to Antonio Conte before taking over himself on an interim basis when Conte left in March, only to be axed himself a month later, spoke glowingly of Maddison in February.
The Italian, 48, said: “We like Maddison as a player.
“He is an important player in this league, a player with an important type of skill, like his delivery, his cross, his right foot is a very important foot so he shoots, he crosses, he takes the set-pieces.
“When you feel how important this type of skill is, for sure you like this type of player. He’s a player with talent.”