Potential huge boost for Newcastle in defender race as club ‘decide to give up’ on player

Newcastle United’s chances of winning the race for defender Sven Botman have been given a boost as AC Milan are set to pull away.

That’s according to Tuttosport, who say the Italian side ‘decide to give up’ on the player due to their limited budget.

The newspaper explains that Rossoneri coach Stefano Pioli has made the decision to give up his wish to sign Botman as the club adapts to new restraints put in place by their new owners.

While they have targets on their list, all of them equal around €130m, and the budget is only half of that, so sacrifices will have to be made.

Botman has already been discarded because of this, with Pioli and club chief Paolo Maldini deciding to ‘give up’ on the Dutchman as he is not as much of a priority as other positions.

They’ve instead decided to cover other roles, and that could pave the way for Newcastle to get the defender instead.

The Magpies have been chasing Botman since the January transfer window and remain keen on him despite the signing of Dan Burn.

Indeed, earlier this week, it was stated they are at the top of the list for his signature, and that position will only be strengthened if Milan are pulling away, as Tuttosport say.

Of course, Newcastle will still have to convince Lille to sell and Botman of a move to St James Park, but with their main competitors out of the picture, that’s a far easier job than before.