Sven Botman to Newcastle United explained – here’s when deal in principle will be made official

Botman passed his medical at Newcastle on Monday and was at St James’s Park to finalise his part of the deal. While he is a Newcastle United player in principle, the 22-year-old’s transfer will not officially be completed until later this week.

What does ‘agreed in principle’ mean for Newcastle United?

This is as close to being done as Newcastle can get without Botman officially being a Newcastle United player.

Everything is signed and agreed but the transaction, relevant paperwork and clearance won’t be ratified until later in the week, when Botman will officially become a Newcastle player.

Newcastle’s announcement on Tuesday evening helped appease fans who had been growing impatient regarding confirmation of Botman's transfer after the defender was filmed at St James’s Park on Monday.

Rather than waiting until the end of the week to make an official ‘big’ announcement, the club opted to provide an update of where things stand to supporters.

When will Sven Botman’s transfer to Newcastle United be finalised?

Botman’s transfer to Newcastle United is most likely to be confirmed by both clubs on Friday, July 1.

The reason for the delay in announcing the deal officially, according to L’Equipe, is financial.

Lille will submit its balance sheets for the financial year on June 30. By delaying the transaction until July, the lucrative transfer fee paid by Newcastle will be published as a profit by Lille in the next financial year’s accounts rather than this year’s.

June 30 marks the final day any transfer incomings or outgoings can be added to a club’s profit and loss calculations, which are linked to Financial Fair Play regulations.

As a result, some clubs choose to deliberately accelerate or decelerate transfers around the June 30 date depending on which year they wish to book the profits.

As Lille paid just £7.7million to Ajax for Botman in 2020, his £35million sale represents a considerable profit.

Delaying the transfer by a couple of days won’t make any difference to Newcastle from an FFP perspective as the transfer fee and ancillary costs will be spread over the life of Botman’s five-year contract.

It will, however, impact the overall cost of Newcastle’s squad recorded in its club accounts. While Botman's transfer fee won’t be included in the cost of Newcastle’s squad in the 2021-22 accounts, the summer transfers of Matt Targett and Nick Pope will as they were concluded before June 30.

What has Sven Botman and Eddie Howe said about the signing?

Newcastle will refrain from publishing any official quotes from Botman or head coach Eddie Howe until a deal is finalised later this week. Lille are yet to announce the player’s departure so all Newcastle club website interviews relating to the transfer have been held until it is officially confirmed.

Howe hasn’t spoken on the record about Botman explicitly despite the player being a top transfer target throughout 2022.

But Botman has taken to social media to react to his move. The 22-year-old posted on Instagram: “Official [tick] Happy to be part of the Magpies family! See you soon!”