Newcastle United will resurrect their interest in James Maddison this summer, with the player understood to be considering his options and unlikely to sign a new deal at Leicester.
The Magpies head to Nottingham Forest on Friday night with top four hopes reinvigorated by a weekend win over Wolves.
But behind-the-scenes work is starting to begin on a close season recruitment drive that will bring them closer to their goal of being in annual competition for English football’s biggest prizes.
And Maddison is viewed as one of their priority targets, seen as achievable and intrigued by the project at Newcastle.
While Leicester will continue to press him to sign a new contract, the most likely scenario is that they have to listen to offers in in the summer for a player with just a year left on his current deal. They cannot afford for him to depart for nothing.
i understands that while he is focused on keeping Leicester in the Premier League right now, the England international is taking a long-term view of his next move.
He has ambitions to be a regular in the England side and to play in the Champions League.
That tallies with Newcastle’s aims and the Magpies have recently been able to sell that vision to some of the best prospects in Europe. It feels like momentum might be tipping back in their favour as they prepare for a final push for the top four.
Sunday’s late but ultimately deserved win over Wolves was a relief for Eddie Howe, snapping a run of five games without a win and six hours without a goal.
“I’m the type of manager who lives for goals, lives for those moments,” he said on Thursday.
“You train and work hard for everyone to see that and it was an incredible moment for everyone connected with Newcastle United to see those two goals go in. Hopefully it’s the start of a run now.”
The inconsistency of those around them means the barren form since the turn of the year has not mortally damaged their aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League.
There is all to play for. A win at the City Ground takes them to within a point of Spurs with a game in hand – and they still have Antonio Conte’s team, Arsenal and Manchester United to play at St James’ Park. Those will be occasions to savour.
“An important game,” was Howe’s understated verdict of Friday’s trip to the East Midlands. He hopes Alexander Isak’s superb performance has laid down a marker for a richly talented forward to make an impact in a run-in where plenty is at stake.
European football would be transformational for Newcastle, opening the doors to new potential transfer targets and tapping into a new revenue stream which would turbo-charge the club’s progress.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes Champions League qualification would be worth a “minimum of £50m” in prize and broadcast money alone. A group stage win banks £2.3m and that is before gate receipts are taken into account.
“Commercial revenue is the big area that Newcastle want to address and European qualification would be really important there,” Maguire told i.
“The introduction of fair market value rules – which were specifically done to hamper Newcastle’s progress after the takeover and prevent them from ‘doing a Man City’ – mean the club will have to justify the valuation of any new sponsors they bring on board this summer.
“If you can point to the reach of either the Europa League or Champions League it makes it much easier to justify a big sponsorship deal.”
Even without it, Maguire believes the constant reminders about Financial Fair Play from Newcastle’s hierarchy are a “clever ploy” from a club with deep pockets but an ownership that doesn’t want to be seen as “dumb money”. They have room to spend in the summer if they want, he says.
“I think what they are keen to avoid is becoming Everton mark two and they want to avoid paying a ‘Newcastle tax’,” Maguire says.
“Teams took Manchester City’s trousers down when they were first taken over but there were no FFP rules so you could afford to make a few transfer mistakes but the restrictions mean Newcastle don’t have that option.
“To me it looks like smoke and mirrors to a certain extent – they have more flexibility than people think and than the club’s messaging conveys. They could easily afford to spend £150million and comfortably come within the FFP boundaries.
“They want to send a signal out that they don’t want to be taken to the cleaners, that they are operating within a degree of prudence and I think that’s very sensible and has worked so far.”
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