On Tuesday it was announced that a deal in principle had been agreed to sign Sven Botman from Lille, after months of speculation, chasing and almost losing out to AC Milan.
Despite there still being things to sort out paperwork-wise, Botman is now, for all intents and purposes, a Newcastle United player. The Toon have one of the brightest prospects in world football in their defence. Many fans are calling him “Our Vincent Kompany” in the hopes that he will come in and lead the team for years while growing to become one of the best defenders in the world.
Since signing, Botman has been speaking to Dutch outlet, De Telegraaf (via The Northern Echo) about his move, saying:
“Ultimately, Newcastle United’s great project, in combination with playing in the Premier League, was the deciding factor,” said Botman, in an interview with Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf. “That last one has been a dream my whole life. AC Milan also gave me a good feeling, but Newcastle United felt just a little better in the end.
“I really wanted to go to Newcastle United in January, because I also heard, and that’s a cliche, I know, that a train like this doesn’t pass by very often. But the clubs couldn’t figure it out.
“And afterwards this might be better, because I can now experience a lot of preparation and I was able to say goodbye to Lille in a beautiful way.“That club deserved it. Staying wasn’t a punishment for me in January either, because I knew there were two great Champions League games against Chelsea coming up.”
As the deal isn’t technically completed yet, we’re still to see what Botman has said to NUFC TV, and we are still awaiting reaction from Eddie Howe.
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