Tottenham beat Manchester City to £40m transfer this summer

Tottenham beat Manchester City to James Maddison transfer this summer

Manchester City held interest in Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison this summer, as per the Daily Mail.

But they could not formalise their interest as they were unsure about who would leave their club. Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan have left the club since the end of last season.

But it seems that there is uncertainty surrounding which players can still leave Manchester City. This deterred them from making an offer for Maddison, who was then at Leicester City.

The Foxes’ relegation to the Championship last season made it almost certain that Maddison would leave. There was no way a player of his ilk would drop down to the second division at this stage in his career.

Maddison a great buy for Spurs

Ultimately, Spurs swooped in with a £40million bid to sign the England international. Manchester City’s apparent interest in Maddison further confirms what we already know about him.

That he is a player who is capable of playing for the best teams in the world — even the outfit that won the treble last term. He can play out wide, as a No. 8 and as an attacking midfielder.

No manager in the world would frown at such versatility. He now has minutes under his belt under Ange Postecoglou as well, starting as a No.

10 in the loss against West Ham United (2-3) and the win against Lion City Sailors in Singapore (5-1).

It’s debatable if he would have had a big role at Manchester City, to begin with. Just ask Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips about how hard it was for them just after they joined the Etihad outfit.

But in the end, Maddison would (or should) be happy that he came to Spurs — a big six Premier League giant where he can rest assured about his playing chances.

We have big ambitions to win silverware and the 26-year-old is the level of player that we need to achieve it.