For the past few days, various claims from England and Italy have stated that Newcastle United are interested in Lille star Sven Botman.
On December 14th, Grand Hotel Calciomercato reported the defender is one of ‘dream’ signings for the Magpies’ owners in the winter market.
A day later, we covered claims made by Calciomercato.it that the ‘official offer’ from Eddie Howe’s side should arrive shortly for the 21-year-old.
AC Milan are also credited with an interest in the centre-back, but it was explained the Premier League will most likely be his next destination.
With several reports of the Tyneside club wanting the Dutchman, L’Equipe on Thursday present the Ligue 1 winners’ stance on a possible transfer in January.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sevilla and Atalanta came forward for Botman in the summer, but their approaches were resisted by Lille. ‘This should still be the case in the winter, even if a threat looms’, likely from Newcastle.
Lille are determined to keep Botman as they are ‘not a seller’. However, if the Magpies, as reported in England, come with a €47m offer for a player with a market value of €28m, then the newspaper suggests the French club could may find it hard to refuse.
Jocelyn Gourvennec’s side have made it to the knockout stages of the Champions League where they will face Chelsea in the Round of 16. Finishing on top of the group table will see ‘nearly €65m go into their coffers’, which should be a ‘real breath of fresh air’ for a club with ‘fragile finances’.
Lille, for now, have no desire to let Botman leave even if a ‘threat looms’ from Newcastle. The stance may change if there is a tempting offer from Howe’s side.
