Liverpool & Tottenham join Man Utd in opening talks to sign £60m star

Managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads during the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, the race to sign James Maddison hots-up….

Liverpool and Tottenham have joined Manchester United in opening initial transfer talks over a deal to sign the £60m-rated Leicester City midfielder this summer, according to the Daily Star.

Maddison was a product of the Coventry youth system after joining the club as a child and after spending a two-year spell at Norwich, the attacking midfielder earned a £20m move to Leicester last year.

The 22-year-old enjoyed a superb debut campaign in the Premier League as he provided 7 goals and 7 assists in 36 games to help Leicester secure a ninth placed finish while he’s also broken into the senior England squad having been called up for the Nations League games with Croatia and Spain back in October.

Understandably, Maddison’s impressive form has also attracted interest from the upper echelons of the Premier League and the Independent reported recently that Man Utd had moved into pole position to sign the youngster after opening talks with Leicester over a potential deal.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to be extremely active in the market this summer after United finished sixth this season and Maddison could be viewed as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba – who’s being strongly linked with a move away from Old Trafford.

However, Man Utd face stiff competition as the Daily Star says Liverpool, Tottenham and City have joined Man Utd in making a formal enquiry over Maddison’s availability this summer so a fierce transfer battle could be on the cards.

The newspaper says Leicester are desperate to keep hold of the attacking midfielder and are under no real pressure to sell but they’ll be tempted to cash-in if an offer of around £60m is put on the table by one of the big-boys.

Tottenham bosses are set to back Mauricio Pochettino in the market this summer and Maddison fits the mold of player the Argentinean coach likes to work with as he’s young and has plenty of scope to improve further.

Liverpool are expected to make minor alterations to their squad this summer after winning the Champions League but they’ve never really replaced Philippe Coutinho since he joined Barcelona and Jurgen Klopp is seemingly eyeing a move for Maddison.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop and I’m sure Maddison would be tempted to play for either of the Champions League finalists, however, United may be favourites as the player has made no secret of the fact he was a Man Utd fan growing up.

READ –> Liverpool transfer news | Man Utd transfer news | Spurs transfer news

Maddison is quoted as saying by the Daily Star:

“My idol is Cristiano Ronaldo. I always looked up to him because when I was younger I was more of a Manchester United fan

“My first memory was them beating Bayern Munich and my dad running around the table with me.”

Let’s see how this transfer story progresses over the coming weeks but I think Maddison would be a superb signing for any of the top clubs if they could lure him away from the King Power this summer.