Former PL manager believes £50m player is going to join Newcastle this summer

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James Maddison is a name that is constantly being linked to Newcastle United and now a former Premier League manager has backed the Magpies to finally land their target.

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast with Sam Allardyce, Tim Sherwood said that he expects James Maddison to be a Newcastle player next season.

Maddison has been linked to Newcastle since last summer and despite several attempts, the Magpies have been unable to take the ‘exceptional‘ England player away from the Foxes.

Sherwood expects Maddison to choose Newcastle over Tottenham

Following Leicester‘s relegation however, it’s now inevitable that Maddison will be on the move this summer. It was was always likely that he’d leave Leicester this summer, but now that they’ll be playing their football in the Championship next season it’s now a case of where he goes and not if he goes.

Newcastle have to be considered favourites for his signature after the lengthy chase, but there is interest from other clubs, particularly Tottenham Hotspur who now have a new manager in place in the form of former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglu.

However, despite his love for the club, Tim Sherwood doesn’t see Maddison heading to Spurs. When the question of Maddison’s next move was raised on the podcast, Sherwood instantly answered “Newcastle”. Sam Allardyce countered with Tottenham, but Sherwood said: “I would love to see it (Tottenham transfer). I think he’s a very good player.

“It’s one the fans will buy into. You need a lot more than him, though. Yeah (he improves Tottenham).”

The big stumbling block in Newcastle’s way of the transfer is, as ever, the difference in valuation placed on the player by Newcastle and Leicester. The Foxes want around £50million for Maddison, whereas Newcastle see his true value closer to £40million.

Newcastle will use Champions League football as a selling point

Hopefully now they are backed more into a corner, Leicester will climb down on their valuation and reach an agreement with Newcastle. With Newcastle boasting Champions League football over Tottenham’s lack of European football, turning Maddison’s head in the right direction shouldn’t be too difficult.

I’ve wanted this transfer to happen since it first came to light, but the longer it has gone on and the more Newcastle have improved, the less I see where he fits into Eddie Howe‘s style.

That being said, I fully expect that Howe’s tactics will change next season when he’s brough in more players. I feel that this season’s tactics were borne out of necessity more than anything else.