After Leicester City's relegation to the Championship, Premier League clubs were put on high alert for some of their biggest talents.
The departure of midfielder Youri Tielemans seems to be nearing confirmation, as Aston Villa announced they had made an agreement with Leicester to sign the Belgian midfielder.
There are plenty of other players who may be seeking a return to the top flight this season, and two of those are Harvey Barnes and James Maddison.
Maddison, in particular, has stood out as a bright spot in a struggling Leicester team for several months now, and big-money clubs such as Newcastle have been linked with the English playmaker.
The strongest links, however, have been with Spurs, and it seems as though the north Londoners are the first to have made a bid, according to a report in the Mail on Thursday afternoon.
Given Maddison only has a year left on his contract with Leicester, they will be hoping to secure either a big-money deal for him or tie him down to a new contract this summer. They are unlikely to be swung by Spurs' bid.
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Report: Spurs make logic-defying bid for Barnes and Maddison
The Mail's report suggests that Spurs have bid £50m combined for the duo of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, with Leicester expected to resoundingly reject the bid.
EXCL 🚨 Tottenham submit £50m joint bid for James Maddison and Harvey Barnes
✍️ @TomCollomosse https://t.co/cOor0b99wu pic.twitter.com/8fU6J4BfGh— Mail Sport (@MailSport) June 15, 2023
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James Maddison has been valued as highly as £60 million by some outlets, after a run which saw him stand out as one of the league's best attacking players for large spells of the last few seasons, despite playing in a poor Leicester team for much of that time.
Though Barnes may appear on paper to be a less glamorous player, he actually surpassed his Leicester teammate's goal tally with 13 last season (Maddison netted ten), and Premier League clubs are also likely to be on high alert for the 25-year-old.
Taking into account their respective valuation (the ever reliable Transfermarkt has them at a combined £75 million in transfer value) and the demand they are likely to generate, the bid from Spurs is expected to be rejected out of hand.
When news of the Spurs bid reached Twitter, rival fans were in disbelief at the amount offered by Tottenham.
— Rob G 009 🥚 (@shearersbuddy) June 15, 2023
That’s up there with the 5 Million and a bag of crisps they offered us for Grealish 😂
— Villamole #AVFC Updates🔔 (@Villamole1) June 15, 2023
Levy is not serious about his club. Spurs need a proper rebuild and Levy will have to sign many players. This is an inulting offer for Maddison and Barnes.
Once Levy realizes that selling clubs will ask market price for their players, he may be forced to sell Kane 🤔— FPL Frasier (@FPLfrasier) June 15, 2023
£50m for Madison you'll be lucky
— Rob J #Doge 🚀 & 420🌱🌬️ (@AstonZillaFC) June 15, 2023
Literally fans of EVERY club is laughing at us. Levy has genuinely turned this club into a laughing stock https://t.co/X3eSxiCUxA pic.twitter.com/OKZR24PXDa
— ⚪️ (@owenthfc__) June 15, 2023
𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲
adjective • formal disapproving
UK /dɪˈraɪ.sər.i/ US /dɪˈraɪ.ɚ.i/
𝐀 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲:
𝑊𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑚. https://t.co/S4zleEExo7— Sam Lee (@SamLee) June 15, 2023
Today is the day of insulting bids!
Dear @SouthamptonFC we at @WestHam would like to offer you £15m & a free coupon for all your staff to ride the Helter-skelter slide at Stratford in exchange for Lavia & Ward-Prowse! https://t.co/HMVOmVOLoo— WHUFC_⚒️_Football_Sloth (@WhufcSloth) June 15, 2023
Levy at the negotiation table #thfc #coys #lcfc https://t.co/JWIR6FlEV4 pic.twitter.com/EUyvde2hwG
— David (@Ted246_) June 15, 2023
It's unlikely we'll see either James Maddison or Harvey Barnes togging out for Spurs unless the offer from the Londoners is increased. Given Daniel Levy's infamous reputation in the transfer market, you wouldn't bet on it.
Nonetheless, they will be in high demand this summer, and Leicester will have their work cut out holding on to their star duo.
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