Surprise James Maddison fee revealed as Spurs strike deal - Did these demands off-put NUFC?

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Tottenham are now 'closing in' on a £40m deal for Leicester's James Maddison with personal terms '100% agreed'.

Elsewhere, it's reported that the player will earn in excess of £170,000-per-week at Spurs. If true, this would've made him the highest earner on Tyneside and may explain why we decided not to pursue the 26-year-old after long-term interest.

Romano adds that a verbal agreement is in place over a £40m deal - substantially less than the £60m Leicester were thought to be demanding - and reports that a medical will be scheduled soon.

Newcastle were believed to targeting the midfielder after long-term interest from Eddie Howe, with the club launching two unsuccessful bids for the attacking midfielder last summer.

However, either the 26-year-old preferred to move to the London-based club or we were never seriously competing with Spurs. If his wage demands stretched well beyond our current structure, the latter is a very real possibility.

It remains to be seen if we'll now turn our attentions to RB Leipzig's Dominik Szoboszlai; the Hungarian star who some consider to be a more exciting alternative as a 22-year-old with Champions League experience and a higher ceiling for growth in this high-energy Eddie Howe side.