Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe admits his message to Sven Botman is to concentrate solely on his Magpies performances after his recent World Cup snub. The Dutch defender was left out of the Oranje set up by Louis van Gaal despite impressing in the Premier League since his summer arrival.
Botman continues to go from strength to strength on Tyneside, earning special praise from Howe after the 1-0 win over Bournemouth this week. At the age of 22, the centre-back will have plenty of opportunities to impress for his country - but Howe is hoping his new Newcastle undroppable continues to impress at club level.
"You can see by how he played the other day, his response [to being left out] has been good," Howe told reporters on Friday. "There was an element of disappointment on his part.