Newcastle United appear set to miss out on Sven Botman, and last night he put in a stellar defensive performance for Lille.
The Dutchman was thought to be one of Newcastle’s top targets coming into the January window.
Newcastle have been awful at the back this season. The squad needs a couple of new faces at least to help shore things up.
It was reported Newcastle wanted Botman and the club did bid for him (Telegraph).
But in the end, Lille refused to do business. And Botman is now set to remain with the Ligue side until the end of the season.
Olivier Letang, Lille’s president, said: “We had enquiries last summer for Sven but we were clear in saying that we needed Sven this season.
“We had a run in the Champions League and we managed to finish first in our group. We have big objectives for the end of the season. Sven will stay with us until the end of the season to help us achieve these objectives.”
Newcastle can’t afford to dwell, and are now looking at the likes of Diego Carlos to come in.
But Botman has already set about showing what Newcastle have missed out on with a solid display against Marseille yesterday.
He made a staggering 12 clearances in the match, five more than the next-highest players Josee Fonte and Reinaldo Isnard Mandava (via Sofascore). Lille were under pressure for most of the game, with Benjamin Andre getting sent off after half an hour.
Botman also made three blocks and completed 20/23 passes (87%).
And he proved his effectiveness at the other end of the pitch, opening the scoring after 15 minutes.
GFFN gave him a 9/10 for his performance. They described him as having been ‘imperious’ and ‘unbeatable in the air’.
Sven Botman produces timely masterclass as Newcastle eye transfer alternatives
It was bound to happen that Botman would put in a top performance as soon as news emerged he would be staying with Lille.
His display against Marseille just shows why Newcastle really wanted to sign him this window.
Given the comments of Letang, it does not look like there will be a late U-turn in the window.
Newcastle therefore need to focus their efforts on other players.
And hopefully, whoever comes in can be as good an addition as Botman likely would have.
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