Newcastle United were desperate to improve their defensive record to boost their hopes of Premier League survival in January, so they made steps to bring in at least one centre-back.
At the turn of the year, Eddie Howe’s men had conceded more goals in the league (42) than any other side, so the Magpies signed Dan Burn on a two-and-a-half-year deal from Brighton & Hove Albion.
He wasn’t the only defender they wanted, however. Newcastle tried and failed to sign Sven Botman from LOSC Lille before the winter transfer window shut, and Noel Whelan says they’ll ‘definitely’ regret missing out.
When asked by Football Insider, if it’s a major loss for Newcastle, he replied: “Yeah definitely. But January is a horrible window. If you do big business in that window, you end up paying a lot of money – it’s as simple as that.
“The situation will obviously be complicated now with Milan’s interest in him. Newcastle have to be realistic. Yes, they’re the richest club in the world – but they’re three years away from being able to compete with potential league-winning sides like Milan.
“Getting into the Champions League is still a way off, and they’ve got to build realistically. It’s not just about handing the club £100million and saying ‘there you go’. The player could well prefer to move to another club for £60million if they’ve got that Champions League football.”
Whelan has a point. Newcastle were in a relegation battle for the first half of the season but are now expected to finish in mid-table, so they’re not in a position to offer European football which could put off a lot of players.
United made multiple attempts to sign Botman, but their bids were short of what Lille requested so a deal never went through. The North-East outfit aren’t ruling out dipping in the domestic market this summer with interest in Everton’s Ben Godfrey and Liverpool’s Joe Gomez, so time will tell which direction they go in.
In other news, Noel Whelan says Eddie Howe must strengthen defence despite signing Dan Burn
