Newcastle United have reportedly been given a huge boost in their rumoured transfer pursuit of Lille defender Sven Botman.
The highly-rated Dutch youngster has shown plenty of potential with his form for Lille, helping the Ligue 1 giants to a surprise title victory last season ahead of a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side.
It now seems likely that Botman will soon be moving on to bigger things, with elite club sides like Liverpool and Manchester United showing an interest in him in the recent past.
More recently, however, Botman has emerged as a top target for Newcastle‘s wealthy new owners, and it now seems Lille accept that he’ll have to leave in the near future.
According to TMW, the French outfit will now accept just £25million to sell Botman, and one imagines that should be easy for Newcastle to afford.
The 21-year-old would be a terrific purchase to get this new era at Newcastle going, as he could end up being one of the finest defenders in Europe for the next decade or more.
NUFC supporters will surely be hoping their club can come in with an offer, though there will also surely be plenty of other suitors for Botman at that kind of price.
Eddie Howe will no doubt be keen to put his own stamp on this struggling Magpies squad he inherited from Steve Bruce, and it seems likely that Botman will be just one of many new faces making their way to St James’ Park this January.