Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of James Maddison...
What's the word?
It's believed that the Leicester City midfielder has been a target for manager Antonio Conte.
Transfer insider Dean Jones revealed to GIVEMESPORT last month that Spurs had "touched base over Maddison" whilst CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs also suggested that "Conte likes the player a lot" to the same outlet.
There were even claims that the Foxes playmaker wanted to join Tottenham after a bid came in from Newcastle United but now, both the Magpies and Spurs have been dealt a gutting transfer setback.
Despite being the only club to not announce a new signing this summer, Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers told reporters that the England international was "not for sale."
"We need to move players out but it’s not getting rid of everyone and certainly not our best assets. It’s something the club are very strong on," he added.
Big blow to Conte
It's no secret that Spurs are looking for a creative influence in midfield and Maddison was someone who fit the bill immensely.
Last season, the English maestro was in fine form as he provided the Midlands outfit with 18 goals and 12 assists from 53 matches across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.
[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-transfer-news-gossip-rumours-conte-paratici-premier-league" title="Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more!"]
Lauded as "one of the Premier League's chief creators" by The Athletic's Rob Tanner, Maddison could well have been the final piece of the puzzle for Conte at Hotspur Way.
The likes of Tanguy Ndombele (ten goals and nine assists from 91 games) and Giovani Lo Celso (eight goals and six assists from 84 appearances) have failed to step up to fill the void left behind by Christian Erisken.
Maddison has far exceeded the disastrous Spurs duo in the space of just one season, whereas they have struggled to deliver across a whopping three years.
The "special talent", as hailed by The Times' Henry Winter, was thought to be available for around £50m, according to The Times, so Conte will surely be gutted by this big transfer blow.
His attention will need to turn to another target with less than a month to go until deadline day.
AND in other news, Spurs could seal "unstoppable" 7th signing in £10m "animal" with Paratici "a huge fan"...