Newcastle United are in the midst of a relegation scrap, and will need to spend in January in order to climb up the Premier League ladder.
Top of Newcastle’s list for January acquisitions is Lille defender Sven Botman.
According to Italian Journalist Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle are “seriously interested” in signing the 21-year-old, but are waiting for Lille to clarify his availability and price tag.
Newcastle are seriously interested in signing Sven Botman in January. He's top of the list – but still waiting to know Lille position/price tag. AC Milan are keeping tabs on Botman situation too ?? #NUFC #Lille
Sevilla, Wolves & Atalanta were in talks to sign Botman last summer. pic.twitter.com/gB0ED8eGvN
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 13, 2021
However, while Newcastle are undoubtedly a far more appealing move for any player now due to their controversial takeover from PIF, they will still be hard-pressed to secure Botman’s signature.
Botman, who is yet to play for the Netherlands senior team, is also being targeted by a some top European clubs, with Italian giants AC Milan said to also be keeping tabs on the situation with him as well.
Romano also reports that a number of clubs were in talks to sign Botman in the summer, including Premier League side Wolves, Spanish side Sevilla and Italian entertainers Atalanta.
Newcastle’s current defensive woes appear to make this signing quite a smart one, but whether the player would want to participate in a relegation scrap when he has other options available to him remains to be seen.
Botman moved to the current French Champions in the summer of 2020 for a fee of £7.2m.
He played in every game bar one for his side as they clinched an unlikely Ligue 1 trophy for the first time in a decade.