Newcastle could 'walk away' from £36m deal at St James' Park | OneFootball

Newcastle United are prepared to walk away from a deal for Lille defender Sven Botman, believes Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.

The Tyneside club have been chasing the 22-year-old since January, but with his price going up, Sheth can see them ending their interest.

What is the latest news involving Botman?

The Telegraph recently reported that Newcastle are ready to hand Lille an ultimatum after watching the French side increase Botman’s asking price from £30m to £36m.

According to the newspaper, the Magpies are likely to tell the former Ligue 1 champions to take their £30m offer or leave it.

AC Milan are also thought to be keen on Botman’s signature, but it looks like they want to pay even less money than Newcastle.

A report from French outlet BUT claims their latest offer falls well short of the Magpies’, making a deal difficult for the Serie A champions.

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What has Sheth said about Botman and Newcastle?

Sheth has told GIVEMESPORT that Newcastle would be willing to end their pursuit of Botman if Lille continue to play the games they have been playing.

Speaking to GMS, the Sky Sports reporter said: “The Sven Botman one, I mean, they really did pursue that deal in January. It kind of went cool this summer because all the money was on AC Milan signing Sven Botman, but I think the money that Lille are after, and Lille are tough negotiators and notoriously quite difficult to deal with as well, I think they may have priced AC Milan out of the market.

“That’s not to say that they’re completely out of the equation, but the frontrunners because of the finances involved you would think would be Newcastle United, but then again, they don’t want to be in a position where they’re paying silly money. They’d be prepared to walk away from these deals.”

Which other centre-backs could Newcastle target?

Newcastle have been linked with other centre-halves like Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings, so perhaps he could be an option.

The Daily Mirror claimed last month that the England international, who has worked under Eddie Howe before, was a target for the 44-year-old.

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Manchester City’s Nathan Ake, another player who Howe has managed, is also thought to be on Newcastle’s radar, with talkSPORT reporting that he is seen as an alternative to Botman.

However, with Chelsea believed to be interested in the Netherlands international, too, he may be out of reach for Newcastle this summer.