Called up to the Netherlands’ U21s for the current international break, Newcastle United’s Sven Botman wasn’t overly pleased about Louis van Gaal’s decision to leave him out of the national first-team.
We know this because the centre-back has decided to snub the call-up, which has understandable left the U21 manager Erwin van de Looi unhappy.
Preferring to stay at Newcastle, Botman will now train with those remaining at the club during the next week and a bit under Eddie Howe to work his way back into his manager’s plans, having been left out of the starting line-up against AFC Bournemouth.
Asked about the player’s choice, Van de Looi said, relayed by Voetbal International: “I had telephone contact with Sven. We’ve talked about it. Of course I accept his decision, but I don’t understand him. It’s everyone’s free choice to come here, but I was disappointed with that announcement, that’s for sure.”
The manager also made it clear that deciding against playing for the U21s might not be ‘too convenient for him either’.
It’s certainly not the attitude they would have expected from the Newcastle player, who was clearly hoping to make Van Gaal’s squad, especially with the World Cup in Qatar just a couple of months away.
Whether this affects his chances of making the competition remains to be seen, but we doubt it will have earned him many brownie points overall.
Newcastle, on the other hand, will probably be quite happy that their player won’t run a risk of getting injured, regardless of where he might stand in Howe’s plans these days.
