Earlier on Thursday, we covered a story from Gazzetta dello Sport claiming that Newcastle United target Sven Botman would cost at least €45m, if not more, in the summer.
This came because the player’s agent was spotted at San Siro on Wednesday for the 4-0 win against Lazio, and while they could have just been there to enjoy the game, the Italian press are getting all excited over it.
Calciomercato are among those, because they claim Botman’s representatives have now arrived at Milan’s offices ‘to give an even stronger impulse to the negotiations already started in January and in view of next summer’.
The website explain they anticipated this meeting, reiterating there would be one today, and that appears to be the case.
In fact, it’s made clear that Milan’s goal here is ‘to try and push on the accelerator to overcome Newcastle’s competition’, which is why both Paolo Maldini and Federico Massara are ‘in talks with the agents in these moments’.
That’s not the news the Magpies will have wanted to hear, as it’s clear Botman was one of Eddie Howe’s targets in January, and even a €45m+ bid wasn’t enough to make Lille waver.
Whether they manage it in the summer remains to be seen, but both the Ligue 1 side and the player will be more open to a move, but they’ll need to meet with the defender’s agents first, much like Milan are doing right now.
