Newcastle United had an agreement in place with Sven Botman’s agent – but the Lille defender instead prefers to sign for AC Milan.
That’s according to a report from But! Football Club in France, who claim that Newcastle have been putting up firm competition for Botman.
Botman was heavily linked with Newcastle during the January window and The Athletic claimed that he had been somewhat tempted by a move.
No deal was struck though, with Newcastle maintaining their interest in signing Botman this summer.
It’s now claimed that Newcastle have had an agreement over a deal with Botman’s agent over a summer transfer.
However, Botman prefers a move to AC Milan and is closing in on a switch to the San Siro.
Botman will allegedly sign a five-year deal with Milan this summer worth around €3.5million-a-year – around £56,000-a-week.
With PIF’s investment, Newcastle may well have been able to offer a bigger deal but it seems that Botman has his heart set on Milan.
This is ultimately something Newcastle may run into on numerous occasions as they start their exciting project.
Until Newcastle can really move into the top half of the table and then challenge for Europe, they may find that a number of top players want moves to so-called ‘bigger clubs’.
Botman seems to fit that criteria, viewing Milan as a better move for his career right now.
In a few years, we could see Newcastle become much more appealing than sides like Milan if PIF’s spending power reaches Manchester City levels.
For now, it seems that Botman wants to play for Milan, who are chasing the Serie A title and will have Champions League football next season.
You can hardly begrudge him that with the 22-year-old ‘machine’ set to give Newcastle an early transfer window snub.
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