Newcastle United are expected to make fresh contact with Sven Botman's representatives after securing the services of Nick Pope from Burnley.
The Magpies unveiled England international Pope yesterday with supporters sparked into immediate conversations about who will start the campaign as number 1 between the ex-York City loanee and Martin Dubravka. However, internally Dan Ashworth and Eddie Howe will now see where things stand with Dutch defender Botman.
Botman remains on holiday after setting off for his break leaving the door ajar for AC Milan, who were the club he initially had his heart set on following a verbal agreement between the Serie A side and his agent. Since then takeover turmoil has hindered the prospect of the deal going through amid talk of limited funds and other priorities on targets for the Italian giants.
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That would nudge the deal back into Newcastle's favour but the Magpies are determined to wait patiently and let the situation run its course. Lille, understandably like Newcastle's big offer for the centre-back and will want the situation resolved soon.
The situation on Hugo Ekitike at St James' Park last night was that talks were still "active" with Newcastle. But a fresh spate of social media posts of the player and his agent seemingly laughing at whatever is displayed on his cell phone has done nothing but irk fans as the saga continues.
Meanwhile, Howe did not give any indication on Pope's role at Newcastle other than he would bolster competition for places. He said last night: "Nick is an exceptional Premier League and international level goalkeeper, so I’m very pleased to be adding strong competition to a very important position.
"There has been a lot of interest in him from other clubs this summer, so I’d like to thank our owners and everyone behind the scenes for getting us ahead of the competition. I’m delighted he is joining us as we prepare for the exciting challenge ahead."
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