Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of English midfielder James Maddison from Leicester City on a five-year contract.
The 26-year-old has become Ange Postecoglou's third signing as Spurs head coach for a reported £40m fee plus performance-related add-ons.
Maddison follows Dejan Kulusevski and Guglielmo Vicario to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and will provide a welcome boost to Postecoglou's creative ranks ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The former Norwich City and Coventry City man only had a year left to run on his contract with Leicester, who were resigned to losing him following their relegation from the Premier League.
Newcastle United were also understood to have been interested in a deal for Maddison, but the Magpies cooled their interest in order to prioritise a deal for AC Milan's Sandro Tonali.
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Maddison leaves Leicester after registering 55 goals and 41 assists in 203 games for the Foxes since joining in 2018, and Leicester have made a healthy profit on the £21.6m they paid for his services.
During the 2020-21 season, Maddison won the FA Cup with Leicester under Brendan Rodgers, a couple of months before collecting the Community Shield with a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
The England international chipped in with 10 goals and nine assists from 30 Premier League games last term, but he could not prevent the Foxes' relegation from the top flight.
Nevertheless, Maddison boasts Europa League and Europa Conference League experience from his time at the King Power Stadium, where he featured in a variety of attacking positions, contributing from both wings and a central role.
The midfielder's exploits have seen him become a prominent member of Gareth Southgate's England squad, making his debut in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro in November 2019.
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Maddison earned a call-up to the 2022 World Cup, but he failed to play a single minute at the tournament due to a knee injury, making the bench against Wales, Senegal and France.
The 26-year-old has since earned his second and third caps for England in Euro 2024 qualifiers versus Ukraine and Malta, starting both wins on the left-hand side of the Three Lions' attack.
With Maddison through the door, Tottenham could now turn their attention to defensive additions and are believed to have opened talks over the signing of Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven.
In terms of outgoings, Harry Winks is expected to head in the opposite direction to Maddison and join Leicester in a separate deal, which could pocket Tottenham approximately £10m.
Ben Knapton
