Antonio Conte relying on double Tottenham exit before making James Maddison transfer bid

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Tottenham boss Antonio Conte will be expecting a bumper budget in the summer to bolster his squad and James Maddison is reportedly a top target for the Italian coach. However, Spurs reportedly need to offload at least one of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso in the summer to help fund a move for Maddison.

Leicester look set to cash in on a number of their star players due to their financial situation. Brendan Rodgers wants to make some changes to his squad, but has reportedly been told that players must be sold to raise funds.

Maddison may well fetch the biggest fee with The Sun claiming Leicester are hoping for bids in the region of £60million. The midfielder won’t be short of options with Arsenal said to be in the hunt for his signature.

But north London rivals Tottenham are also keeping tabs of Maddison with Conte reportedly a big fan of the Englishman. Conte supposedly wants to bolster his attacking options and sees Maddison as the perfect midfielder to fill into his system.

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Signing Maddison won’t be Tottenham’s first priority in the transfer window though as it is claimed Conte’s main target is to sign a left-sided centre-back. Ben Davies has largely occupied that role this season, with Eric Dier and Cristian Romero the other regulars at the heart of defence.

Even if Tottenham do get what they want in defence, a move for Maddison may not be straightforward. They need Tottenham Ndombele or Lo Celso to find a new club to free up a budget to move for Maddison.

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Both midfielders were loaned out in January with Ndombele joining Lyon and Lo Celso completing a switch to Villarreal. Lo Celso has slotted straight into Unai Emery’s side at Villarreal and played a huge role in the Spanish outfit recording an impressive win over Bayern Munich this week.

Ndombele made a similar impact for Lyon in the Europa League tie against West Ham, scoring the equaliser midway through the second half. Lyon have the option of making Ndombele’s move permanent for £54m while Villarreal do not currently have a similar deal in place.

It’s been suggested that Lyon are unlikely to stump up that amount of money to sign the Frenchman. But Villarreal are reportedly keen on signing Lo Celso and want to open talks with Tottenham in the near future.

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