James Maddison transfer saga takes fresh turn amid small Newcastle United development

James Maddison’s odds of joining Newcastle United shortened overnight following the Carabao Cup quarter-final win against Leicester City.

The England international missed the clash at St James’ Park due to a knee injury as the Magpies reached their first semi-final in 18 years with a 2-0 victory.

Although Maddison did not travel to Tyneside, his name continues to come up in conversation given United’s longstanding interest in the 26-year-old.

Eddie Howe’s side attempted to buy Maddison last summer but saw two bids rejected. Speculation over whether or not United will reignite their interest this month is ongoing.

And the bookmakers have added fuel to the fire. As per Oddschecker, Maddison’s chances of joining Newcastle during the January transfer window have shortened from evens to 4/6.

NewcastleWorld understands Howe remains an admirer of Maddison but a move this month is unlikely due to the finances involved.

Outlining the club’s January transfer strategy, sporting director Dan Ashworth told Sky Sports on Tuesday: “First and foremost, Eddie (Howe) is brilliant to work with and an experienced manager so he understands Financial Fair Play and understands trying to build the squad in a sensible way.

“So we would try and work a couple of windows in advance, so we know what we would like to do in the summer of 2023 for example. If the right opportunity comes along, and we can do it, we would look at it but January is always a difficult window.

“Eddie knows that, and I know that, so it’s not always quite so easy to be able to get the right player in a short space of time.

“You get two opportunities in a season to change your squad, in and out, and this is one of them. It’s a shorter window than the summer one and it would be remiss of us not to look at something and do something - but as I said, we are clear what we want to do in the summer.”