Eddie Howe's glowing Newcastle United verdict on Sven Botman's debut in Austria

Botman came off the bench in this afternoon’s 3-0 win over 1860 Munich in Austria. Newcastle signed the 22-year-old defender for £35million from Lille in earlier this month after failing to land him in January.

“Really pleased to get the deal done, it’s no secret we’ve been chasing him for a long time,” said head coach Howe. “Real ability, I think you saw that today.

"He’s a presence. He’s a really good size, his technical ability has been evident from day one in pre-season. His ability to play not just long passes, but short passes. He’s very, very composed. I think he’s settled in very well to the group. He’s a very likeable person, very laid back and calm.

"I’ve been very pleased with his impact on the group in a short period of time. I think he’ll be very pleased with today.”