Newcastle’s signing of Sandro Tonali could leave the race open for Spurs to recruit James Maddison.
The dominant narrative surrounding both teams leading into the transfer window was their shared interest in the Leicester midfielder, who is believed to be available this summer for around £50m.
However, with it emerging this week that Newcastle are close to completing the signing of Sandro Tonali from Milan for a fee in the region of £60m, the Magpies may cool their interest in the England international.
The arrival of Tonali comes as a result of Newcastle prioritising adding a more defensively-inclined midfielder to their squad that can offer cover for Bruno Guimarães and also allow the Brazilian to play in a more advanced role.
With Joe Willock and Joelinton both enjoying strong seasons combined with the breakthrough of Elliot Anderson, signing an attacking midfielder is less of a pressing issue albeit still an important one after their Champions League qualification.
While Maddison remains of long-term interest for Newcastle having already bid for him last summer, they are also known to target other player in this role such as Dominik Szoboszlai.
FFP RESTRICTS NEWCASTLE OPTIONS
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite their intention to upgrade in this position, Newcastle may struggle to do so this summer without falling within FFP regulations. Having spent £60m already on a midfielder, they may look to reserve their budget for other signings first.
Contrastingly, this area is a primary concern for Spurs this window with a lack of creativity and goals from the centre largely attributing to their disappointing campaign, particularly following Rodrigo Bentancur’s season-ending injury in February.
With Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Winks surplus to requirements, the arrival of midfield reinforcements at Tottenham this summer is imminent with Maddison remaining a key target for Ange Postecoglou as he begins his reign as Spurs manager.
With the season beginning in little over a month, it is unlikely Maddison will remain a Leicester player for much longer providing that a club matches their valuation of the player.
While it can’t be ruled out that Newcastle will bid for Maddison, the effect of their focus on Tonali has provided Spurs with a golden window of opportunity to act quickly on signing their key midfield target.
