Gareth Southgate has now announced his England World Cup squad, and there was thankfully room for Newcastle target James Maddison – much to the delight of Gary Lineker.
The Leicester supporter and BBC Match of the Day host lobbied hard for the Leicester No.10 to be named amid plenty of doubt, given the fact he has only been handed one cap by Southgate in the past despite his heroics.
It was Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports who revealed that Eddie Howe is keen to sign Maddison in January when speaking to Give Me Sport.
Now, if the 25-year-old has a strong tournament in Qatar, the Magpies face paying a premium fee.
Newcastle target Maddison praised by Lineker
Well, it would have been scandalous if Maddison was left behind while Jack Grealish and Mason Mount travelled.
The Newcastle target has scored six goals and provided four assists in a struggling Leicester side this season, and has the abilities required to make an impact in tournament football.
After hearing that Southgate had buckled to the pressure and named Maddison in the 26-man squad, Lineker posted the following tweet on Twitter.
Well said.
Maddison knew he was up against it with the likes of Grealish and Mount being favourites under Southgate, but in fairness to him, the Leicester maestro did not sulk, knuckled down and fought his way into the squad.
Impressively, he did so despite the fact things have not been easy for Leicester this season, with Brendan Rodgers overseeing eight defeats from 14 Premier League outings so far.
Newcastle have their heart set on Maddison
Even if some stunning displays in Qatar do take Maddison’s value up, it doesn’t feel as if Newcastle will be put off.
The aforementioned Jacobs believes the Magpies are willing to pay well above market value to sign Leicester’s talisman in January, and with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia backing Howe, a move could happen.
According to 90min, Leicester want £60m for Maddison.
Keep an eye on his situation when the January transfer window comes around, as there is sure to be plenty of interest in his services.
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