Newcastle United hopeful on Sven Botman deal

Botman is the relegation-threatened club’s No.1 central defensive target. Newcastle have been in discussions with Lille, who, up to now, have been reluctant to part with the 21-year-old, and it may take a club-record fee to sign Botman, a Holland Under-21 international.

United signed Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid last week, and the right-back made his debut in Saturday’s shock FA Cup defeat to League One club Cambridge United.

Head coach Eddie Howe hopes that there’ll be at least one arrival ahead of Saturday’s game against relegation rivals Watford.

Howe told BBC Radio Newcastle: “We would love to. I think you can see what Kieran did to the team. The response to him was first class. New signings at this moment would breathe new confidence into the team. So, fingers crossed.”

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