Journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed that Newcastle may be falling behind in the race to sign Sven Botman in the summer.
Botman has been heavily linked with a move away from Lille in the summer, with Newcastle showing interest in January as they prepared a bid in the region of £30m. After a fee was failed to be agreed upon for the defender, Eddie Howe opted to sign Dan Burn from Brighton & Hove Albion for a cheaper price.
The Dutchman is a 22-year-old centre-back who has been a mainstay in the Lille side this campaign, featuring 21 times in Ligue 1, whilst contributing with three goals and one assist, as per Transfermarkt.
Despite Newcastle showing heavy interest in the 22-year-old’s signature in January, O’Rourke highlighted to GiveMeSport that Milan are the frontrunners to sign him due to his desire to play in Italy.
He said: “Sven Botman is a difficult one with AC Milan probably in the box seat to sign him right now. They can offer Champions League football as well, and it seems Botman is interested in a move to Italy.”
TIF Thoughts on Pete O’Rourke’s comments…
Interestingly, Amanda Staveley claimed in late February that Botman was desperate to join Newcastle in the January transfer window and remained keen on joining the Magpies.
However, it now appears as if the defender has had a change of heart as he seems to be leaning towards a move to Milan, which will no doubt disappoint Staveley.
Botman was close to signing a deal at St James’ Park this winter, but the Magpies fell short in terms of an asking price for him. The Dutch defender is valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, but it is thought the French side wanted a fee as high as £36m for his services.
There is no doubt as to why Lille were not keen on letting him go in January, as this season in the league, Botman has an average passing accuracy of 87%, makes an average of 4.5 clearances per game and has helped his side keep seven clean sheets in 21 matches, as per SofaScore.
He is also a defender with Champions League experience, and it is clear that Eddie Howe has criteria when scouting his players, because he wants to sign players that have played at the top level such as Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier. But it may be difficult to lure these players in if other clubs can offer Champions League football for next season.