Newcastle hold an interest in Jack Grealish, according to the Chronicle, but with Aston Villa quoting £40m for their talisman, they should leave him for Leicester to sign and swoop for Norwich City's James Maddison instead.

What's the situation?

The Chronicle report that Rafa Benitez wants to bring some creativity to the North East this summer and was hoping to take advantage of Villa's dire financial situation and engineer a swoop for Grealish.

However, they claim that the Midlands club want £40m for him and that Leicester are among the host of Premier League clubs interested in his signature.

With BT Sport reporting that the Foxes are ahead in the race to sign Maddison, who scored 14 league goals for the Canaries last season, Newcastle should wait for them to sign the overpriced Grealish and then swoop for Maddison, who is reportedly valued at £20m.

Maddison represents better value than Grealish

Both Leicester and Newcastle require creativity this summer; the former because Riyad Mahrez is at best unsettled and at worst very likely to leave in this window and the latter because Benitez has built a functional but uninspiring team sorely lacking invention.

Leicester signing Grealish makes sense because he would not have to leave the Midlands, because he is more of a creator from deep, who would not lurk behind Jamie Vardy and cramp up the space the England international needs to operate in.

Also, their owners are more free-spending so a £40m deal for Grealish is more likely and more attractive to them than it is for the more frugal Newcastle board.

Maddison plays further up the pitch and would help like the midfield and attack, which is something that the Magpies sorely lack and will need to improve upon if they are to avoid a period of stagnation next time around.

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