James Maddison: Arsenal remain interested in signing Leicester midfielder
Maddison is understood to "open to the idea" of joining Arsenal; Gunners may need to raise funds by selling players having already spent £50m on Ben White this summer; Arsenal also keeping an eye on Martin Odegaard's situation at Real Madrid
Thursday 5 August 2021 07:38, UK
Arsenal remain interested in signing Leicester midfielder James Maddison this summer.
Maddison is understood to be open to the idea of joining Arsenal, despite Leicester having finished above the Gunners for the last two Premier League seasons.
There remains doubt as to whether Arsenal can raise a fee that Leicester would accept for the 24-year-old, with the club having already spent £50m on signing defender Ben White from Brighton.
However, the north London club are exploring alternative ways of structuring the deal, with a cash-plus-players offer a possibility if there are available Arsenal players that interest Leicester.
Maddison's contract still has three years to run and Leicester are under no pressure to raise funds this summer, with manager Brendan Rodgers having previously stated the club "don't need to sell".
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The midfielder has scored 27 goals in 118 appearances since joining Leicester from Norwich in 2018 for a fee in the region of £20m.
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Arsenal are also keeping an eye on Martin Odegaard's situation at Real Madrid.
The Norway midfielder spent the second half of last season on loan at the Emirates but has since returned to Real to fight for his first-team place.
Odegaard appeared to rule out a return to Arsenal in an Instagram post earlier this month, but there are growing reports in Spain suggesting Real could allow him to leave with his contract due to expire in 2023.
If Real were to make Odegaard available this summer, he would cost significantly less than Maddison.
Arsenal have also been linked with moves for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, as Mikel Arteta looks to improve on last season's eighth-place finish.
Could Odegaard return to Arsenal?
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth:
"Maddison is not the only player Arsenal are looking at. They're keeping an eye on Martin Odegaard's situation at Real Madrid where he has two years left on his contract.
"He spent the second half of last season at the Emirates but Odegaard went back to Madrid and said he wanted to fight for a place in the side under Carlo Ancelotti.
"There could yet be a situation where Real would allow him to go and Arsenal would be interested. Compared to a Maddison deal, this one would be a lot cheaper and easier to do. It wouldn't cost them in the region of £60m-£70m."
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