Transfer News: AC Milan held new talks with Sven Botman amidst Tottenham Hotspur interest
According to the Italian newspaper Tuttosport [Print Edition] (h/t Sunderland Echo), AC Milan have held new talks with Lille centre-back Sven Botman amidst interest from Tottenham Hotspur for a future transfer. He is one of the highly-rated defenders in world football at this moment and his addition would be a great move for any team.
Botman is expected to leave his current club in the upcoming summer transfer window. Newcastle United are also in the race alongside Milan and Tottenham as all three teams have shown an interest to add him to their respective squads. However, the Italian club is leading the pursuit at this moment, and their latest discussions have further assured their position.
The Serie A side have been in negotiations with the Dutchman for quite a while, which could have played a hand in helping them gain the upper hand. However, the primary factor is still Champions League football which is eluding both Newcastle and Spurs at this moment. He wants to keep playing in a team where he can remain in the prestigious competition.
Damning blow for Spurs
It seems that we are helpless in our pursuit to sign the 22-year-old without achieving Champions League football for next season. We are still some way behind in ensuring that we can get into the top four places in the Premier League table. Tomorrow’s game against West Ham United would really be crucial in that regard, with the yet to be rescheduled North London derby against Arsenal being another one.
It would be normal if we lost out on some of the top targets if CL football cannot be guaranteed next term. As such, we must do our best to ensure that we would qualify for the European competition. Until then, we should try to convince the Ligue 1 ace that he should not take a final decision without having a firm idea about our CL future.
After all, the Dutch international is a kind of necessity for us looking at the recent struggles in our backline. The likes of Joe Rodon and Davinson Sanchez have been cast aside by Antonio Conte, whereas Japhet Tanganga can be upgraded with a better option.
More Tottenham Hotspur News
- Barcelona could swap Memphis Depay and Clement Lenglet with Tottenham Hotspur for Sergio Reguilon
- Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott backs Harry Kane to leave Tottenham Hotspur
- Antonio Conte lavishes praise on Eric Dier ahead of the Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United fixture
Ben Davies has done well for us as a left-centre-back, but that is not his natural position. Hence, his limitations can be exploited by our opponents, which means that we would need to find a suitable replacement as soon as possible.
Whether Botman can be that man or not would only be known in due time. What we can do at the moment is to make our case with him while achieving a top-four finish in the PL at the end of this campaign.
