Newcastle United chiefs had eyes on James Maddison last night and it would have been impossible for the 26-year-old not to be aware of it as he made his third appearance for England.
Maddison - who played on the left-hand side of a three pronged attack - had a hand in the second goal after dropping his shoulder and turning in the build-up before the ball fell for Trent Alexander-Arnold who thumped home to make it 2-0. And Maddison was in and around the play as Harry Kane won a penalty to put England three to the good.
Whether the Magpies discovered anything they didn't already know about Maddison is up for debate during England's 4-0 win in Malta. The former Coventry man is a clever player, possesses good technical ability on the ball but is also streetwise when it comes to winning free-kicks of inflicting tactical fouls.
READ MORE - Eddie Howe looks ahead to United States tour
He ticks most of the boxes for an Eddie Howe player but again this transfer will boil down to the price tag. And while Newcastle didn't learn anything new, Leicester feel they are justified in asking for more than £50million for a player that was able to step on to the international stage and make an impact.
They have 15% to pay back to Norwich as a sell on clause but Newcastle - and Spurs - argue that his contract expires next summer and he will be available to walk away for nothing. There has been no bidding war yet for the Foxes but that may still change.
By the time he was substituted, he managed a shot on target as he chopped past his marker and unleashed an effort which went straight at the keeper. Defensively he put in three tackles and had 45 touches in total in Malta.
All in all it was a good display by Maddison but this was always going to be routine stuff for England. Malta are positioned in 172nd place in the FIFA world rankings and it showed.
Maddison watched on from the bench as his England team-mate won and played for a penalty after his cross hit a Malta defender on the hand. And then duly stepped up himself to score his second international goal.
It would be interesting to see the pair together if they are selected in England's final game of the current season against North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday night.
