Report: Eddie Howe may change Sven Botman’s position in the future

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Sven Botman got his Newcastle United career underway on Saturday afternoon…as a 93rd minute substitute.

The Dutchman was named on the bench for the opening game of the season, left to watch on as Fabian Schar and Dan Burn started at centre-back.

It was a bold call by Eddie Howe, but probably a sensible one too. Schar and Burn were excellent last season, with neither giving Howe any reason to make a change.

While the temptation will have been there to put the £35million man straight in the starting XI, Howe is taking a more measured approach.

He did the same with Bruno Guimaraes last season and it worked a treat, with the Brazilian arguably Newcastle’s best player on Saturday.

Howe will hope that Botman can have the same kind of impact once he gets into the team. To do that he will need to replace Dan Burn, although the Newcastle manager might change Botman’s position in the long-run.

Botman could go from left to right as Howe ponders position change

The 22-year-old arrives at St James’ Park as a left-footed centre-back. Therefore, his preferred position is as a left-sided centre-back.

And according to the Athletic, that’s where he will likely begin his Newcastle career. However, they add that Howe might change that in the future.

They report that Howe thinks Botman can eventually play as the right-sided centre-back. That would give Newcastle more flexibility, and is a testament to the summer signing’s ability.

It will take time though, and that is the approach Howe is favouring. He hasn’t thrown him in at the deep end. Instead he is taking his time to ensure Botman is up to speed.

He may eventually replace Burn as the left-sided centre-back this season, but that might not be where he remains. But for the time-being, the local lad is the player whose position is most at risk with Botman lurking on the bench.

Hopefully Botman’s presence forces Burn to raise his game to an even higher level to ensure he remains in the starting XI. Saturday was the perfect start, with Burn very much justifying the manager’s decision.

He’s not going anywhere soon, meaning Botman will have to bide his time. In the future, however, Burn could play alongside Botman rather than instead of him.