Rio Ferdinand has explained why he is not yet convinced about Sven Botman – the top Newcastle United target who we are expected to go back in for this summer.
Speaking as a pundit for BT Sport prior to last night’s Champions League clash between Chelsea and Lille, he stated that the Dutchman’s ‘lack of pace’ and tendency to go to ground would ‘concern’ him ahead of a potential move to the Premier League.
The 6ft 4′ centre-back played the full 90 minutes last night in Lille’s 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge and didn’t look out of place against top opposition, yet the former Manchester United defender thinks there is ‘still much to do’ when it comes to him adjusting to the pace of English football.
Here’s what Rio had to say when discussing the 22-year-old:
“I think there is still much to do.
“I think he’s been a consistent, solid performer for Lille but, again, going into the Premier League is a different proposition.
“My only concern is pace. I think he’s solid enough but you look at even these clips we’ve picked here, [he’s] always slide tackling. That always concerns me when I look at a defender.
“You’re sliding because you’re late to something, you obviously lack pace, you’ve seen the danger a bit later than you should.
“As good as these clips do look, as a reservation that would concern me.
“There’s no doubt in this guy, he knows how to defend. He gets himself in good positions, he very rarely gets exploited for his pace which is great but then that’s in the French league he’s done that.
“The big question when you’re recruiting is can he transfer that to the Premier League which seems a faster, NBA-style pace at times.”
I do wonder just how much Ferdinand has seen Botman play. After all, his comments suggest he’s seen a few Youtube clips and decided he mustn’t be that quick as he’s often sliding into tackles?
Pre-match comments aside, the Dutchman put in a solid display in an otherwise disappointing night for Lille. See his stats from the game below:
