NEWCASTLE MOVING CLOSE TO SIGNING TARGET SVEN BOTMAN

Newcastle United will make a fresh attempt to beat AC Milan to the signing of Lille defender Sven Botman, Football Insider understands. The Serie A giants have leapfrogged Newcastle in the race to lure the centre-back, 22, this summer and are working to finalise a deal in the coming weeks.

A Newcastle source has told Football Insider that the club have not given up hope of landing Botman after extensive negotiations over a potential deal both in January and subsequently. Both clubs have offered a contract to the defender and verbally agreed personal terms. They will now try to negotiate a fee with Lille, who have held out for a £30million fee.

Newcastle offered £27m for him in January but Lille held firm and would not let him go. The Netherlands under-21 international was among the Magpies’ top targets during the winter window. However, Eddie Howe instead turned to Dan Burn to strengthen the heart of his defence.

Despite the giant centre-back’s arrival, the Newcastle boss is still in the market for more defensive recruits. The Magpies have remained in talks with Lille over a potential deal for Botman, despite rival interest from AC Milan.

The Italian heavyweights have also been working on a prospective move with the French side and Botman ahead of the summer. The defender, who stands at 6ft 5in tall, has been a mainstay for Lille since joining from Ajax in 2020.

He has 75 appearances under this belt for the Ligue 1 outfit, 28 of which have come this season. As well as Burn, Newcastle have Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar, Federico Fernandez, Ciaran Clark and Paul Dummett as their centre-back options. It remains to be seen if anything concrete will materialize from the reports in the summer.