Newcastle United and Manchester United will be on red alert following recent reports that Serie A champions AC Milan have ‘walked away’ from a potential deal to sign Lille defender Sven Botman.
That’s according to a recent report from the Chronicle’s Lee Ryder, who claims Italian national TV reports, briefed by AC Milan officials, are claiming the Rossoneri are no longer in the running for Botman.
Italian TV, briefed by AC Milan chiefs, say they have walked away from Botman deal. https://t.co/8nwLdhxFpX #nufc
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) June 10, 2022
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Botman, 22, has been heavily linked with a move away from Lille during the last two transfer windows.
Despite failing to sign the defender in the winter, Newcastle United executive Amanda Staveley admitted that the Magpies worked hard to try and bring the 22-year-old to St James’ Park.
“We had to encourage players – ‘we’ll be a safe place for you, we’ll deliver and grow’,” Staveley told The Athletic back in February.
“Some desperately wanted to come to us, like Sven (Botman), who still does very much and has talked very openly about that. […] We did everything. We never stopped. From the start to the finish, we did not stop working.”
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Also rumoured to be a target for Erik Ten Hag’s Man United, a report from Football Insider suggested the Red Devils could be looking to beat all other interested clubs to Botman’s signature.
News that AC Milan, who were, not so long ago, clear frontrunners to sign the talented centre-back, have pulled out of the race, will come as a major boost to both Newcastle United and Ten Hag’s Reds, both of whom desperately need to bring in at least one top centre-back this summer.