Interest from Premier League duo Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur does not ‘scare’ AC Milan with the Serie A leaders on the verge of signing Lille’s Sven Botman, as reported by Calciomercato.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic a few weeks ago, Amanda Staveley insisted that Botman ‘desperately’ wanted to sign for a club who, since that Saudi Arabian takeover, have come to be known as the richest football team on planet Earth.
Well, be that as it may, Botman isn’t desperate enough to choose Newcastle over an AC Milan side sitting three points clear at the top of Serie A and just eight games away from their first Scudetto triumph since the days of Clarence Seedorf, Alessandro Nesta and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
According to The Times, the Magpies are planning a £27 million summer bid for Botman.
Lille turned down a number of offers in January. But president Olivier Letang has already admitted that the Dutch international will be allowed to leave in the summer. Letang even confirmed Newcastle’s ‘interest’.
Though, if Calciomercato are to be believed, Botman is now one small step away from becoming an AC Milan player instead.
Directors Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara are prioritising a commanding central defender to replace the departing Alessio Romagnoli.
What’s more, the ‘offers from England’ – presumably Tottenham and Newcastle – ‘do not scare’ a Milan side confident of sealing the deal for one of Europe’s most coveted defensive talents.
Botman certainly appears to have at least one foot in the San Siro already.
Gazzetta dello Sport reported a couple of weeks ago that the former Ajax youngster has agreed a five-year deal worth £55,000-a-week at the seven-time European champions.
Newcastle, then, will have to turn their focus to one of their many other centre-half targets. Benoit Badiashile, Diego Carlos and Nico Schlotterbeck, to name but three.
Tottenham, meanwhile, already appear to be looking elsewhere. Though Josko Gvardiol, Fabio Paratici’s number one target, pointed out recently that he plans to stay for another season at Red Bull Salzburg.
