"Newcastle aren't really in control" - Insider drops fresh claim as Eddie Howe eyes £46m signing

Newcastle United “aren’t in control” in the race to land Lille defender Sven Botman this summer, says transfer insider Dean Jones.

The 22-year-old was a key target for the Magpies and Eddie Howe in January, but AC Milan is his preference, according to Jones.

Botman still seems to be on Newcastle’s radar, with the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope reporting at the end of last month that the Tyneside club watched the Dutchman in Lille’s Champions League tie with Chelsea.

They face some serious competition in their bid to sign him, though, with Milan also very keen on his signature.

According to 90min, the Italian giants are eager to bring in Botman and his Lille team-mate Renato Sanches and are confident of landing both.

In February, The Telegraph claimed that Lille wanted £46m for their centre-half, so signing him this summer is unlikely to be a cheap operation.

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Jones has told GIVEMESPORT that Milan are indeed leading the race for Botman and that Newcastle are not in control in this transfer tussle.

Speaking to GMS, the football journalist said: “The difficulty with Botman is that he wants to join AC Milan. He loves [Paolo] Maldini, wants to play for that club.

“At the moment, they need to free up some wages and they need [Alessio] Romagnoli to leave, so it’s kind of like a domino effect, and Newcastle aren’t really in control of the situation right now.”

The Telegraph also claims that Tottenham are considering Botman, while other clubs could also join the battle for the Netherlands U21 international’s services, which is not good news for Newcastle.

With both Tottenham and Milan almost certain to be playing some kind of European