Newcastle close to making a breakthrough in £30m battle for Botman

Newcastle are concentrating efforts on Lille defender Sven Botman after agreeing to sign Matt Targett from Aston Villa in a £15m deal.

Newcastle face competition from AC Milan for Dutch centre-back Botman who is valued at £30m.

Earlier this week, Botman revealed he intends to leave Lille this summer confirmed both clubs are interested in signing him.

Shortly after becoming the richest club in world football, Eddie Howe 's side were heavily interested in Botman and made bids in the region of £32million during the January transfer window.

They failed to push a deal over the line but have continued their pursuit this summer, alongside Serie A champions AC Milan, who are also interested in the Dutchman.

Botman has now said he intends to leave Lille this summer as he 'intends to take a [different] step' in his career.

When asked by Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad if he has played his last game for the Ligue 1 side, the 22-year-old said: 'I don't know, but I think so. I intend to take a step.

'Talks are underway now. I won't go into all of that, but it's going well. I do hope that the transfer for the new season is completed. Preferably also for the pre-season, yes.'

Botman went on to reveal both Newcastle and AC Milan are interested but refused to go into further detail.

He added: 'Those clubs are interested, yes. I can't and won't say much more about it. What I want is to take a nice step towards a nice competition. I am also looking forward to a new step.

The deal is likely to cost around £30m, although Newcastle have been haggling over a structured deal.

Newcastle remain hopeful of reaching agreement over the structure of Hugo Ekitike's transfer after agreeing a fee with his club Reims last week.