Newcastle United have confirmed the signing of Dutch centre-back Sven Botman from Lille for an undisclosed fee.
He has signed a deal after completing his medical on Monday afternoon and becomes Newcastle’s third signing of the window following defender Matt Targett and goalkeeper Nick Pope.
The Magpies have finally got their man after trying to sign the defender in January but could not reach a breakthrough in negotiations with the French club. The 22-year-old has spent the last two years with Lille, playing an instrumental role in the club’s surprising Ligue 1 title win in 2020-21.
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He is still young so he will still have much of his game to develop but he is already a player that can be thrown in at the deep end and he will adapt. He has two years worth of experience at the highest level and arrives at St James’ Park with the experience of winning a league title whilst also playing in the Champions League, which the Magpies are striving to achieve in the near future.
Newcastle have managed to fend off interest from Serie A champions AC Milan for his services which shows just how much players are drawn into this long-term project in the north east - particularly due to the fact that the Italian side were able to offer him Champions League football immediately.
The Netherlands Under-21 international is a rather calm and collected centre-half who likes to play short passes and help move the ball up the pitch. When it comes to defending, he doesn’t rush into challenges and he is prominent with his aerial duels. In 2021-22, he won 111 aerial battles, while completing 44 tackles and he is only going to improve with further experience and the challenges that the Premier League has to offer.
Newcastle fans will be excited to see how strong a defensive partnership can be formed between Botman and Dan Burn, who was exceptional for the Magpies in the second half of 2021-22, and it is certainly on paper a pairing that has great potential.
The club’s patience has seemingly paid off in getting this deal over the line but it doesn’t seem like their business is anywhere near completed yet.
