Tottenham Hotspur fans can rest easy as the club have completed the first major signing of their summer transfer window with the arrival of James Maddison.
The England international played with Leicester City for the last five years, appeared in 163 Premier League matches where he scored 43 goals and won two trophies with them – the 2021 FA Community Shield and the 2021 FA Cup. The former Coventry City midfielder was not able to produce enough like the rest of his teammates last season, which led to the Foxes’ relegation from English football’s top-flight league.
He now joins Youri Tielemans, Çağlar Söyüncü and 10 others who will leave the club ahead of the 2023/24 EFL Championship season.
Tottenham – who are also linked with another Leicester City player, Harvey Barnes – secured the services of the 26-year-old midfielder for £40 million. He will sign for five years and is the club’s third official signing of the season after the permanent transfer of loanee Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus and the signing of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to replace Hugo Lloris.
British tabloid The Independent reports that Spurs have tracked Maddison from his days at Coventry. They also reported that the club almost entered a bidding war with Newcastle United who chose to complete a deal for AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali instead.
Following the completion of Maddison’s signing, Harry Winks will move to the King Power for £10 million, bringing his nine-year stay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to an end.
Spurs are also interested in Burkina Faso defender Edmond Tapsoba, who plays in the German Bundesliga with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The 6 ft 4 in centreback is a priority signing for new manager Ange Postecoglu and the club have contacted the German side as to his availability. The 24-year-old could cost around £26 million to sign. Spurs are also interested in VfL Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven.
Defence is a priority for the Lilywhites because they conceded 63 goals last season, the sixth most goals conceded in the league. To put it into perspective, only teams that finished from 15th below conceded that many goals and Spurs finished in eighth place.
Spurs fans can expect more signings in defence than in attack, but will also be worried about the future of Harry Kane who could still exit the club this summer. Bayern Munich are pushing for the striker’s signing and will make another bid for him soon.
