Make or break at the bottom for leaky Leicester
LEICESTER will be faced with cut-price offers for James Maddison and Harvey Barnes this summer if they are relegated to the Championship. Maddison and Barnes are set to be sold at the end of the campaign, with Maddison attracting interest from tonight’s opponents Newcastle, as well as Tottenham. Newcastle enquired last summer about Barnes, who is also on the list of Aston Villa.
As a Premier League club, Leicester would expect at least £50million for Maddison and a substantial sum for Barnes. Yet given the financial hit they would take for dropping into the second tier, they are unlikely to receive offers of this magnitude.
Maddison, who has 10 goals and nine assists this term, has only one year remaining on his deal and although Barnes (12 goals and one assist) is under contract until 2025, he has shown no signs of agreeing a new one. Manager Dean Smith hopes to be in contention to land the job permanently but time is running out for him and his team.
The former Aston Villa boss took over with eight games remaining and has struggled to correct the defensive flaws that have dogged Leicester all season. ‘We are running out of games to put it right,’ said Smith. ‘We are in the last chance saloon with the game against Newcastle. When I came in here for the last eight games, if someone had said to me, “If you need to win at home the last game of the season, would you take it?” I probably would have. ‘Hopefully we can get there but we have to get a performance and a result against Newcastle. ‘I have seen a united group. They’re not all going to be bosom buddies but what you have to be is the best team-mate you can.’