There’s no denying that Sven Botman’s adaptation to the Premier League after his transfer to Newcastle United has been impressive.
The defender is one of the key reasons why Eddie Howe’s side have been great in the league and the EFL Cup this season, even if he couldn’t prevent Manchester United’s win at Wembley at the weekend.
One of his representatives has made it clear that he is very happy at Newcastle after his transfer from Lille, and the future is bright for both him and the club going forward.
That being said, the Premier League side could have never been given the chance of signing Botman last summer had Atalanta’s owner, Antonio Percassi, listened to his then technical director Giovanni Sartori.
He said: “It’s the summer of 2021, and after months of negotiation, Sartori closes the purchase of Sven Botman from Lille, the Dutch centre-back, who a year later will come close to transferring to Milan and who, today, with the Newcastle shirt, is the best centre-back in the Premier League.
“Percassi won’t listen to him, deciding to go for Juventus’ Merit Demiral.”
Therefore, it appears that Newcastle have Percassi to thank for their ability to sign Botman as the president’s desire to take over the transfer market aspect of his team and ignore his employee is what allowed Eddie Howe to get the defender.
