Newcastle United defender Sven Botman has appeared to send a message to Eddie Howe by proving his commitment to the club as he keeps himself fit during the World Cup break.
During the summer, the centre-back left French club Lille and joined the Magpies in a deal worth around £35m, signing a five-year contract.
Since then, Botman has proven himself to be a top player for Newcastle. Indeed, in his first 15 outings across all competitions, he is yet to be on the losing side.
However, this fine form was not enough to earn a spot in the Netherlands World Cup side. This no doubt would have hurt the defender, but he has still been working hard behind the scenes to ensure he is ready for the second half of the Premier League season.
In a story shared on his own Instagram page, Botman posted a video of himself hard at it on a rowing machine – perhaps hoping to remind Howe just how committed he is to the Toon’s cause despite the disappointing snub for Qatar 2022.
TIF Thoughts on Sven Botman and Newcastle…
While Botman is a relatively new signing for the club and has impressed so far, more players could be signed soon due to the ridiculous transfer resources at the club, thus making it harder for the Dutchman to keep his place in the team.
For instance, according to reports in Italy, Newcastle have a ‘strong interest’ in signing Eintracht Frankfurt centre-back Evan Ndicka. More players will mean more competition for spots, so the former Lille man will have to maintain his strong form if he is to remain a first-choice option over the next few years. He certainly can’t afford to let his World Cup snub bother him too much.
Of course, from all the evidence we’ve seen so far, he should have no problem doing just that. And after seeing this video of the player working hard to keep himself fit – even though the Magpies aren’t due to meet up again until early December – it seems as though Botman has a great mentality and looks set to shine in the new year.
Will Sven Botman get himself back into the Dutch team after the World Cup?
Yes
No
