Arsenal have made their opening move for Leicester City midfielder James Maddison with the player interested in a move to the Emirates.
Brendan Rodgers’ side missed out on Champions League qualification at the end of last campaign after a final day defeat against Tottenham, which came a week after their FA Cup win against Chelsea.
It was a bittersweet end to the season for the Foxes who were forced to settle for a place in the UEFA Europa League after their landmark Wembley triumph.
Maddison’s creativity had been key to another solid season for Leicester but his impressive displays failed to convince Gareth Southgate he was worthy of a place in his England squad for Euro 2020.
According to the Guardian, the 24-year-old playmaker believes a transfer to Arsenal would raise his profile, aid his development and boost his chances of international recognition.
But, Leicester will not part with one of their prize assets for anything less than his transfer market value which they believe is around £60m.
Despite establishing themselves as a consistent Premier League force, Leicester have regularly sold their best stars, albeit for significant sums, in recent years with Maguire, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez all having been granted moves way from the club
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Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, is desperate to add more attack to his team, despite Emile Smith Rowe having committed his long-term future to the club by signing a new contract last month.
Arteta had been keen to re-sign Martin Odegaard after his successful six-month loan spell last campaign, but there remains a huge amount of conjecture surrounding his future.
The 22-year-old initially wanted to stay and fight for his future at Real Madrid but he is increasingly unsure that he has a future under the new coach Carlo Ancelotti.
