Sven Botman future set to be finalised as Newcastle-linked star opens talks with Euro giant
The future of Dutch centre-back Sven Botman could be sorted in the next few days as he has reportedly opened talks with a major European side.
Botman, 22, has been shining at Lille since joining from Ajax in July 2020. Last term, he made 47 appearances as Lille won their first French league title in 10 years.
He has remained an integral part of their first team this season and has even chipped in with three goals in Ligue 1.
Botman will remain at Lille until the end of the season, despite being the subject of intense Newcastle interest during January.
The Magpies submitted two offers for the defender but had them both pushed back. Their transfer pursuit was over by January 16 as Lille president Olivier Letang said: “We had enquiries last summer for Sven. But we were clear in saying that we needed Sven this season.
“We had a run in the Champions League and we managed to finish first in our group. We have big objectives for the end of the season so Sven will stay with us until the end of the season to help us achieve these objectives.”
But Botman is edging closer to a summer move away from France. On deadline day, he called Newcastle a ‘very nice project’ and compared them to Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Sven Botman aims to join ‘beautiful club’
The defensive star also called Milan ‘a beautiful club’ and could link up with the Rossoneri later this year.
According to the BBC Sport gossip page, which cites reports in Italy, Botman’s representatives are in Milan today to organise a transfer.
The original source states Milan technical director Paolo Maldini is heading the negotiations as he wants to improve the club’s backline.
Botman’s Lille contract runs until 2025, though the French side will have little choice but to sell if he attempts to push through a move.
Sven Botman may have one eye on the Qatar World Cup. He is yet to achieve a senior appearance for the Netherlands but could make the squad if he impresses for Milan.
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Surprise Newcastle talks revealed
Meanwhile, a report from the Manchester Evening News has revealed Magpies stopper Martin Dubravka could have joined Manchester United in the winter.
They claim the two clubs had drawn up plans to swap Dubravka with Englishman Dean Henderson. Both players would have transferred on loan.
Henderson had made clear his desire to move away in search of regular gametime. Usurping the resurgent David de Gea has been a near-impossible task this season, leading to the 24-year-old’s career stalling.
Newcastle had been frequently named as a contender to sign Henderson throughout January. But aware Man Utd were refusing to be left short-handed, they offered regular starter Dubravka as bait.
The Red Devils were reportedly ‘prepared to accept’ Dubravka moving in the opposite direction. However, it was the veteran Slovakian himself that put the kibosh on the surprise swap.
His reason stemmed from not wanting to be relegated to a mere back-up. If Henderson can’t get in ahead of De Gea, Dubravka seemingly believed he would stand no chance either.
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