James Maddison tweet controversy angers Spurs as Newcastle United miss out on move

James Maddison is undergoing his medical at Tottenham Hotspur ahead of his £40 million plus add ons move from Leicester City.

It was widely thought the midfielder would join Newcastle United this summer after having two bids turned down for him last summer.

But it seems Spurs have beaten the Magpies to it, something Maddison himself might not be best too pleased about.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed Maddison had tweeted about the North London side twice in the past, once in 2012 and again in 2013, criticising the side and claiming he ‘dislikes’ Tottenham. The tweets have since been deleted.

In the first tweet, the England international wrote: ‘I hate Gareth Bale with a passion, calm down you monkey, [Jack] Wilshere is 10x better than you chimpanzee.’

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Writing again in 2013, he said: ‘Hope Luis Suarez destroys Tottenham today, don’t like Spurs! Especially that monkey everyone’s on about!’

At the time Maddison was 15 and 16 respectively and playing for Coventry City’s youth team, however, now December 2019 is the cut-off point on the footballer’s Twitter account.

The 26-year-old was one of Eddie Howe’s top targets for the window but Spurs have broken through after talks with Newcastle stalled.

Firstly, Newcastle were unwilling to meet Leicester’s rumoured £55m+ asking price for a player entering the final year of his contract.

And secondly, there were issues with Maddison’s personal demands, which were believed to exceed the United’s highest earner.

Naturally, Newcastle United fans believe money is at play here with the Daily Mail reporting the midfielder has agreed terms of £170,000-a-week at Spurs.

One fan tweeted: ‘James Maddison obv he didn’t fancy the challenge got offered more money or didn’t fancy getting up at 06.00 and being as fit as a fiddle . Great player but his loss.’

While another said: ‘Imagine being a spurs fan, knowing that Maddison only came for the money.’