Newcastle United have maintained a dignified silence after news from the East Midlands that the Magpies placed a £40million bid for England international James Maddison. The Magpies did not comment on talk of a bid on Saturday morning, nor did they confirm or deny the offer for Maddison.
Less than 24 hours after Eddie Howe insisted he would not be drawn into discussing individual names, a report from the Daily Telegraph says that Newcastle's offer was rejected. And follow up reaction has now unfolded suggesting that only a bid of £60million would prise him away from the King Power Stadium.
Maddison currently has two years left on his current deal and Leicester are in a strong position to demand what they want. But at £60million Maddison's price tag would be significantly bigger than the fees Man City picked up for Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal and Raheem Sterling to Chelsea in what is turning into a crazy market.
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Chronicle Live understands that Maddison was not first choice on the list of sporting director Dan Ashworth and head coach Howe. Fresh talks on transfers took place behind the scenes before and after last night's 1-0 friendly win over Atalanta with co-owner Amanda Staveley, Ashworth and Howe all in attendance and working around the clock to bring in new faces.
Howe was asked last night whether he would be able to add a new player to his squad before the game with Nottingham Forest. He said: "We are desperate to try to improve the group if we can with the right player."
When asked if that would arrive in time for Forest next Saturday, he said: "Never say never. "I have been in the game long enough to not give you a definite answer on that."
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