Newcastle United’s summer rebuild continues with the £37m signing of Sven Botman, a left-footed centre back the club believe can develop into one of Europe’s best defenders.
Botman was in the North East for a medical on Monday as the club brought the curtain down on a protracted transfer chase that began in January with the best possible outcome.
The deal reaffirms Newcastle’s growing authority in the transfer market. They have been able to outmuscle Serie A champions Milan to take Botman from Lille, where he has established himself as a promising, uncompromising centre-back who looks tailor-made to make an impact in the Premier League.
While many are puzzled by Newcastle not making more impactful signings – despite speculative links in the overseas press they are nowhere near deals for big names like Gareth Bale, Ousmane Dembele or Neymar – Botman continues the club’s carefully curated route to progress. They are buying players who immediately upgrade them but come with potential to grow with the club. They are doing it with a fairly restrained budget too.
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Botman is a Ligue 1 title winner, a Dutch under-21 international and was a regular in the Champions League last season but is still regarded as something of a rough diamond with plenty of progression to come.
The general manager of Ajax who was responsible for brokering the loan move to Heerenven which kick-started his career, summed him up perfectly. “He has all the qualities of a pure defender, he duels well, heads the ball well, is a real winner and will throw himself in front of the ball at the last minute to win a game,” Gerry Hamstra said.
“The Sven standing in front of you is the real Sven. He’s very solid, reliable and doesn’t do crazy things. He is a man of few words. He does, rather than talks.”
The £37m deal comes with a 10 per cent sell-on clause which will benefit Ajax. Erik ten Hag was the manager when the Dutch side sold him to Lille, unconvinced he would grow to be the player he has become.
There was a belief in Amsterdam that his physical attributes – he had an imposing frame at 17 – were masking technical deficiencies which emerged when he grew older. He lacked pace and wasn’t particularly mobile but that is when his mentality kicked in.
He took special sprinting lessons, worked on becoming more explosive from a standing start and is now one of the quickest players at recovery sprints in Europe, while retaining his ability to command aerial duels. He won more of those than compatriot Virgil van Dijk last season.
Some of those who have watched Botman in Ligue 1 have likened his physique to Van Dijk and believe his improvements in the last 12 months make him the player most capable of replicating the impact of the Liverpool star in the Premier League. Botman himself is on the record as saying he is “amazed” by his compatriot’s ability to integrate strength and speed.
Newcastle have overhauled their defence completely since January, signing two England internationals (Nick Pope and Kieran Trippier), a Dutch under-21 international and proven performers Dan Burn and Matty Targett for around £80m.
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Newcastle will now focus on a right winger and striker and are now actively looking at other deals after becoming frustrated with the lack of progress on a deal for Reims’ forward Hugo Ekitike. Armando Broja or Nice’s Amine Gouiri are two possible alternatives.
A senior source admitted it looked as if the hold ups on Ekitike suggested an unwillingness on either the player or his representative’s part to join Newcastle so the club are moving on.
And given the excitement building at the footballing project at St James’ Park, the suggestion is that reluctance would be hugely out of place when the players return for pre-season this week ahead of a campaign that is being eagerly awaited on Tyneside.
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