Newcastle United have offered Sven Botman £85,000-a-week in the Premier League but the Lille defender would prefer to accept a lower offer from Serie A champions AC Milan, transfer expert Rudy Galetti tells Tribal Football.
Will this saga ever end?
There appeared to be a glint of light at the end of a long and winding tunnel last week, the Express reporting that Newcastle were closing in on a deal that would see Eddie Howe’s number one defensive target finally arrive at St James’ Park for a fee in the region of £30 million.
That was, however, until Lille moved the goalposts at the eleventh hour. According to The Telegraph, the 2021 Ligue 1 champions have changed their mind about accepting Newcastle’s bid, raising Botman’s price-tag by a further £6 million.
No wonder Newcastle are starting to wonder if all the effort is really worth their time.
Is Sven Botman about to snub Newcastle United for AC Milan?
And while Botman himself spoke in glowing terms about the prospect of joining the nouveau-riche Tynesiders recently – Newcastle, he said, offers ‘a very nice project’ – there remains doubts about how serious he is about the prospect of joining Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier and co in the north east.
“Sven has on the table two proposals: That of AC Milan of three million euros a year and that of the Magpies of five million euros a season,” explains Galetti. “The defender would choose the Rossoneri.”
Clearly, the finances are taking a back-seat role to the sporting project, as far as Botman are concerned. And while Newcastle have the funds and the ambition to become a major player at the top of European football in the coming years, they are in no position to offer what AC Milan can right now. Namely, Champions League football and the prospect of immediate silverware.
“Botman is a great player,” Milan director Paolo Maldini said of the left-footed Dutchman earlier this year.
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