Sven Botman explains his decision to snub AC Milan for £35m Newcastle transfer switch

Erik ten Hag's first training session as Man Utd boss

PFL champion Ray Cooper says his world titles are 'meaningless'

Would Michael Bisping Have Beaten Israel Adesanya?

Chelsea's 2022-23 Premier League fixtures

Who could replace Lukaku at Chelsea?

Antonio Rudiger's first Real Madrid interview

De Jong quizzed on Man Utd transfer links

Kelly Holmes in tears as she describes coming out as gay

Newcastle's new £35million defender Sven Botman has revealed that he chose the Toon ahead of AC Milan because Tyneside felt like the right fit.

Botman, the 22-year-old Dutch international who has moved to St James’ Park, was disappointed when the transfer failed to materialise in January when the Magpies first approached Lille about a deal.

He interrupted his holiday in Ibiza to make it happen this time - and Botman has promised to do everything he can to live up to the hype that will come with the price tag. Botman said: “In the end, the beautiful project of Newcastle United combined with playing in the Premier League was the deciding factor.

“The latter has actually been a dream all my life. AC Milan also gave me a good feeling, but Newcastle United felt just a little bit better in the end. I really wanted to go to Newcastle United in January, because I also heard - and that's a cliche, I know - that such a train doesn't pass by often. It means the very big chances don’t come by that often. To me Newcastle was a mega opportunity.

“I was able to say goodbye to Lille in a nice way. That club deserved that. Staying wasn't a punishment in January either, because I knew there were two beautiful Champions League games against Chelsea coming up. I have that baggage now, too. Immediately after arriving, I noticed that soccer in