Brian Statham claims Tottenham Hotspur reported target James Maddison could cost £100m

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Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keen on Leicester City playmaker James Maddison.

Brian Statham has claimed that reported Tottenham Hotspur target James Maddison could cost the club a staggering £100 million as Christian Eriksen’s future is also unclear.

The former Spurs defender, whose son Maxwell is part of the club academy, also stated that replacing a player of Eriksen’s quality will be ‘extremely difficult’ as the Dane suggested that he is looking for a new challenge, as reported by Sky Sports.

Added with that, the Mirror recently claimed that Leicester’s Maddison, who could be Eriksen’s potential replacement, would cost Tottenham £60 million.

Statham shared his thoughts on Eriksen’s future at the North London club and those links with Maddison, who impressed many in his debut campaign in the Premier League.

“Trying to replace any player of that quality is extremely difficult,” Statham told Love Sport Radio. “If you are taking someone from overseas, there’s the period of settling in and integration, understanding the pace and physicality of the Premier League. So do they then look at the UK-based players whether they are foreign or English?

“James Maddison seems to have got an awful lot of attention at the moment and from what I have seen I have been pleasantly surprised at what a good player he is – so it is no surprise that there is interest in James Maddison.

“£60 million would be quite cheap by the sounds of things with the market and prices the way they are going. So maybe that could be a like-for-like price. One goes out for £100 million and one comes in at £100m. You are buying an English player who is 22 which is a really good age who has had one full year in the Premier League but has done extremely well.”

It remains to be seen what happens with Eriksen and Tottenham as a whole following that Champions League defeat in Madrid.

Mauricio Pochettino has a big summer ahead of him and if he wants to take the club to the next level then the club have to invest in the squad and that may mean selling some of their prized assets.

A player like Maddison would fit in at Spurs because he has the attacking qualities and technical ability to step up and produce the goods for a team that will be playing Champions League football next term.