Newcastle United transfer news: Magpies ‘prepared to pay’ £85m for in-demand striker, Toon ‘table’ forward offer

Botman was one of Newcastle’s major targets in January before they opted to move for Dan Burn.

Alongside Diego Carlos, who has just agreed a move to Aston Villa, links with Botman had lots of Magpies supporters excited over a potential move.

In January, Lille president Olivier Letang revealed why a move for Botman wouldn’t be possible at that stage: “We have big objectives for the end of the season, so Sven will stay with us until the end of the season to help us achieve these objectives.”

The 22-year-old helped play a pivotal role in Lille’s 2020/21 Ligue 1 triumph whilst also featuring regularly in their run to the Champions League round of 16 this season where they were defeated by Chelsea.

As mentioned, AC Milan are known to be great admirers of Botman and had reportedly been leading the way for his signature, but recent reports suggest Newcastle remain committed to a deal for the Dutchman and that they may be able to swoop ahead of the Rossoneri.

So what has the player himself actually said about his future? Well, in an interview with L’Equipe, as picked up by Get French Football News, Botman admitted there was January interest in him: “There were opportunities [to leave in January].

“But we also had the Champions League to play in, my first one. And we were in a good position in Ligue 1. I think these offers will come back.”

And when asked about if this was his last season with Lille, the defender revealed that he will likely leave France this summer: “I’ll see. If things go as planned, then yes. But first of all I want to finish this season well. The club deserves it. After that, we’ll see. I haven’t decided anything.”

Check out the latest Premier League transfer speculation below...