Tottenham Hotspur look set to lose out to Newcastle United on a deal to sign highly-rated Lille defender Sven Botman.
Spurs have been linked with the defender in recent days as they look to bolster their defence in the summer to further support Antonio Conte’s revolution at the club.
However, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, the appeal of Conte and European football may not be enough to secure his services.
O’Rourke told GiveMeSport if a deal came down to Spurs and Newcastle, then Spurs would lose out due to club being unwilling to beat Newcastle in a bidding war for him.
The 22-year-old was targeted by Newcastle in January, with a £46m price tag being set on his head. A fee Newcastle were ultimately unwilling to match before they turned their efforts towards signing Sevilla’s Diego Carlos and then Brighton’s Dan Burn.
Newcastle were taken over by a Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund earlier in the season who took a controlling 80% stake in the club along with half of the remaining 20% going to Amanda Staveley and the Reuben Brothers in an equal split.
The new owners showed their commitment to Newcastle in January, bringing in five players for an outlay worth roughly £85m.
Meanwhile, Spurs brought in Juventus pair Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski on deadline day but also missed out on Luis Diaz and Adama Traore in what compounded a frustrating window.
If the North Londoners maintain their interest in Botman going into the summer, they will likely be hoping Newcastle fail in their goal to avoid relegation so they can have a clear run at signing the defender.
There is a long way to go in the Premier League season yet, and both teams have short term goals they need to meet in order to best position themselves for the summer window.