Tottenham Hotspur could deliver a double blow to rivals Arsenal: beating them to Champions League football and a big target they've been linked with.
After thrashing Aston Villa at the weekend, Spurs are in full control of the race for top four, with favourable fixtures over the Gunners. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will play host to the North London Derby in May – by which point, Spurs may have sealed their position.
Arsenal may well be worrying about their summer transfer plans, now: and Tottenham could well steal a march on their neighbours by being able to offer Champions League football.
One star now being linked with the Lilywhites is Leicester City playmaker James Maddison. The Foxes no.10 was at the centre of speculation that he could move to the Emirates Stadium for £60m last summer – and it has been suggested that Mikel Arteta may look at bringing him this summer to play on the opposite side to Martin Odegaard and boost his team's creativity.
But according to The Sun, Maddison, capped once by England, could be off to the other side of north London instead. Antonio Conte has insisted that he wants the playmaking Harry Kane to play further up the pitch, suggesting that he wants a more creative player deeper behind the England captain.
This season, Maddison has 13 goals and nine assists in 43 appearances for Leicester after being encouraged by manager Brendan Rodgers to deliver a little more consistency for the East Midlanders.
The 25-year-old is valued at around £45m by Transfermarkt.
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Antonio Conte has been vocal in recent weeks about the direction that Tottenham need to head in, claiming that Steven Bergwijn needs to believe in himself a little more and stating just how important it is to win the race for the top four.
Spurs have been linked with a number of youngsters, too. Hugo Ekitike is reportedly on the radar, as is Charles De Ketelaere.
One surprising report states that the club are interested in Memphis Depay, while an Inter Milan star who has worked under Conte is also a reported target.
