By Pete O'Rourke, Transfer Correspondent

9th Apr, 2023 | 8:30am

Sources: Tottenham board want to sign James Maddison - won't wait for new manager's approval

Tottenham will not slow their pursuit of James Maddison this summer while the club is without a manager, sources have told Football Insider.

Spurs are among the favourites to sign the 26-year-old playmaker this summer but are currently without a permanent manager after sacking Antonio Conte in late March.

Football Insider sources revealed on Friday (7 April) that Tottenham have leapfrogged Newcastle and are now in pole position to sign James Maddison.

While ahead of Newcastle and Liverpool in the race for Maddison, the board of the North London club do not want to wait for a new manager’s approval and risk losing their lead.

Maddison has one year remaining on his current deal at the King Power Stadium, and it is understood that Leicester would accept a bid of around £50million this summer to avoid losing him for free in a year’s time.

A new creative midfielder was identified as the club’s top priority when Conte was in charge, and Maddison is viewed by Spurs as a potential Premier League superstar.

Julian Nagelsmann, Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique have all been linked to the Spurs vacancy, but the board do not want to wait for their new manager’s approval before submitting a bid for Maddison this summer.

The Foxes midfielder has been in great form this season despite Leicester struggling at the bottom end of the table.

Maddison has nine goals and six assists in 25 appearances across all competitions, although his contributions have not been enough to keep Leicester out of the relegation zone.

Following a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday, the former Premier League champions sit 19th – two points from safety.

In other news, 47-year-old not in running for Tottenham job – ‘he won’t work with Levy’