As reported by the Northern Echo, Newcastle will be forced to battle it out with West Ham for Sven Botman after David Moyes has made him his ‘number one summer target’.
The Dutch defender was heavily pursued across January in what would have been a major coup, but with our poor league position and Lille’s board unwilling to sell while they were still in the Champions League, the deal was abandoned.
Botman helped to win Ligue 1 with Lille last season but, due to financial difficulties, have been unable to replicate their success.
As a result, the 22-year-old revealed in a recent interview that he’ll be moving on this summer, also stating that the project on offer at Newcastle United is a “very nice” one that “would be fun.”
However, the Northern Echo report that West Ham will have a ‘strong backing’ from the board and David Moyes has identified the 22-year-old as a key target as he searches for a left-sided centre-back.
West Ham also remain in the hunt for one of the Champions League and Europa League spots and may be able to offer the young defender European football next season.
Yet, we are understood to still be very interested in the player and the Dutchman ‘desperately wants to come to us’, according to Amanda Staveley’s interview with The Athletic last month.
