Newcastle urged to avoid signing ‘super’ Tottenham target who doesn’t fit the Eddie Howe system

Former Tottenham player Danny Murphy has advised Newcastle against signing James Maddison this summer because he ‘doesn’t fit Eddie Howe’s system.’

The England international is expected to leave Leicester after they were relegated to the Championship, and there is plenty of interest in him.

Indeed, Tottenham and Newcastle have long been considered to be the favourites to sign Maddison. This comes after a season when despite Leicester’s relegation, Maddison was still very impressive.

In 30 Premier League appearances, he scored 10 goals and made nine assists. This gives him an impressive average of 0.63 goal contributions per game.

Now, Howe is strongly considering a move for Maddison. But, he won’t pay over the odds for him.

As reported by TEAMtalk, the Magpies won’t offer more than £40m for the attacker this summer. This is because of two reasons: because he is now a Championship player, and he has only one year remaining on his contract.

Nevertheless, Leicester have still slapped a £55m price tag on Maddison. So, it will be interesting to see if Tottenham match that fee.

If they don’t, though, the 26-year-old’s next move is likely to be decided by whoever offers the most for him.

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Murphy warns Newcastle off Maddison deal

However, Murphy thinks that Newcastle should avoid signing Maddison this summer, despite admitting he is a ‘super’ player.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “The way Eddie Howe has set up this Newcastle side and the way I see them moving forward and staying on that same trajectory is not with James Maddison, even though he’s a super player who I admire.

“[It’s] because he plays three in the middle of the pitch, a bit like early [Jurgen] Klopp when [Philippe] Coutinho went. Three athletes who can play but are just box-to-box, they press, they get back, they spot danger, they play high-tempo.”

“He has three up front with the odd addition of a full-back. I think if he goes to Newcastle he’d have to play wide. Unless Eddie Howe – which I cannot see – completely changes system.”

Admittedly, it does seem unlikely Howe would be willing to change a winning formula to accommodate one player.

However, he currently has other attacking midfielders on his radar, which seems to contradict Murphy’s advice.

Indeed, Newcastle are currently battling to sign Turkish wonderkid Arda Guler, who, like Maddison, plays as a number 10.

So, Howe may indeed be looking to shake up his formation next term.

But, as it stands, Leicester simply want too much money for Maddison. So, until that changes, Tottenham remains his most likely next destination.

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