Newcastle United aren’t short of centre-backs with Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernández at their disposal, but Lascelles and Fernandez aren’t commanding a regular starting place while Clark was axed from their Premier League 25-man squad, so the Magpies could sign a defender this summer.
LOSC Lille’s Sven Botman was a player Newcastle wanted to sign in January before a deal collapsed, but the North-East outfit could return for the 22-year-old this summer. Whether their pursuit is successful remains to be seen, however, as Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke believes AC Milan are ahead of United in the pecking order.
He told Give Me Sport: “Milan are a massive club. They have been following Sven Botman for a long time and the trump card they’ve got over Newcastle is it looks like they will probably be able to offer Champions League football next season. That might just be the deciding factor in their pursuit of the Dutch international.”
O’Rourke has a point. Newcastle have lucrative funds following their takeover by Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media, but they’re at the beginning of their project. The Magpies are 17 points adrift of the Premier League top-six with 10 games remaining, so it’s unlikely they’ll be in Europe next season.
Milan, however, are top of Serie A and three points clear of second place, so they’ll be a more attractive destination than Newcastle for now.
In other news, Alan Shearer says Eddie Howe ‘transformed’ struggling Newcastle players
