Newcastle United defender Sven Botman has reportedly had moments this season when he’s been surprised and frustrated with manager Eddie Howe.
The Dutchman joined Newcastle from Lille in the summer and has not become the automatic starter that some will have expected, and it seems this has not gone down entirely well.
According to The Athletic, Botman decided to pull out of Netherlands Under-21 international duty to focus on improving his situation at Newcastle, having been taken aback by the times Howe left him out of his starting line up.
Although Botman has long looked a hugely promising talent, it seems Howe remains keen not to rush him at Premier League level, and is instead bedding him in slowly.
The 22-year-old impressed in his time in Ligue 1, but he’s still a young player in a new team and a new league, so it’s perhaps not surprising that he hasn’t instantly become first choice for Newcastle.
Still, NUFC fans will hope the situation improves soon and that they don’t risk making a big prospect unhappy and potentially lose him later on.