Liverpool inflicted their fair share of damage on Newcastle United during the summer transfer window.
Not only did they sign leading Newcastle United transfer target Hugo Ekitike, they also ended up landing Alexander Isak after a protracted and ugly saga.
Fortunately, Newcastle are starting to move on. In Nick Woltemade, they have a striker already turning himself into a cult-hero at the club.
Still, the toxic nature of the Isak saga will make it difficult to accept for many Newcastle fans.
While wanting to leave was perhaps understandable, the manner in which he did so left a sour taste in the mouth.
Newcastle were baffled by Liverpool at times, although clearly their strategy worked.
They certainly did a number of the Magpies during the summer transfer window, making recent speculation in regard to Sven Botman even worse.
- Who is Sven Botman? Get the lowdown on Newcastle United’s Dutch defensive dynamo
Sven Botman linked with Liverpool transfer
According to talkSPORT, the Reds are considering a January move for a new defender. They missed out on Marc Guehi on deadline day and have since seen summer signing Geovanni Leoni suffer a serious knee injury.
As such, they could enter the market for a new centre-back in January.
The report claims that Newcastle star Botman is a potential option, having “scored strongly” in Liverpool’s “data driven approach” when it comes to looking at targets.
There’s no suggestion that Liverpool will definitely move for the Dutchman, just that he has been looked at.
The report goes on to reveal that Newcastle do not want, nor do they plan, to sell Botman.
Why losing Sven Botman would be worse than Alexander Isak
Losing Isak was a blow, there’s little doubt about that.
However, watching Botman head to Anfield would be even more galling. At the end of the season, he will have only a year left on his contract – meaning the club cannot demand anything approaching maximum value unless he signs an extension.
Botman is in brilliant form for Newcastle and appears to have put his injury problems behind him.
The idea of waiting for so long for him to get back to his best, only to see him leave on a relative cheap shortly after would be gutting. Newcastle at least got three successful years out of Isak, while Botman still has unfinished business and finally looks to be in a place to do it.
For his part, Botman would be open to signing a new contract at Newcastle. Now that he’s back to his best, they need to get that done as quickly as possible.
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