Sven Botman is hoping for a late Holland World Cup call-up - after Eddie Howe insisted he can become a Premier League defensive great.
The Toon star is the next Virgil Van Dijk, signed for £32m in the summer from under the noses of Milan, and leading Newcastle to be the meanest defence in the Premier League. The 22-year-old has made 13 appearances for Newcastle and has not tasted defeat yet.
In those games the left sided stopper has been part of a team who’ve conceded just nine goals and racked up six clean sheets. And Howe has insisted he can be as good as any stopper who has played in the league. Botman’s strong arm defending and impressive cross-field passes have seen the youngster confirm his place as one of Europe’s top young defensive talents under the guidance of Howe.
Newcastle, who have leaked just 11 league goals all season. Botman said: “It is going well but I always had confidence in this team and this club. It is going as planned for now, keep going, keep pushing and don’t think too much about the table.
"I’ve not played in a defeat? It is a good stat! It is teamwork and I am just happy to play in this team and for this club and I always do my best every time.
“Every game is a big challenge for everyone and also me. It is the best thing for me now to play in this competition and develop myself. I like it. I have confidence in this squad and yeah, I don’t want to overthink it. We will keep the run going. Being the “best” defence is for the whole team and we are proud to have achieved this so far. It is early days in the competition.”
He is yet to be capped, and pulled out of the Dutch U21 squad in October to be drilled for a week with Howe on Tyneside. Injuries would have meant a senior call up, and he is in the provisional 55-man squad.
Asked about his World Cup ambitions, Botman said: “I don’t like to speak about it (Holland). But is it an ambition? Of course, always.”
Howe revealed how highly he thinks of Botman. “He has the tools to be as good as any other centre half talked about in Premier League history. I would not be here saying Sven can’t do anything. That would be wrong of me.
On the ball he is outstanding. Technically he is very high level and can play short and long passes. He has all the tools. He has got an understanding very quickly and picked up the pace of the Premier League very quickly, the physicality, and he is an integral part.”
Botman has been an ever-present since his week of coaching with Howe’s non-internationals and Howe added: “The (international week) has been overestimated. We work with all our players. Not just for Sven. Defensively we work a lot on our way of defending and it is difficult to do that on an individual basis, it is done as a group format.
“He formed part of that group and when there are fewer players you can get more detail into the individual and Sven’s attitude to that work was excellent. Since he has come back into that team I think he has been very good.”
