Newcastle United's pursuit of Sven Botman is ongoing - despite the emergence of Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign the Dutchman.
Botman stayed at Lille after a bid close to £50million for the Holland Under-21 international did not persuade the Ligue 1 club to sell this winter.
But the door was left ajar by Lille and Botman's agent Muy Manero to return with a summer offer.
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Chronicle Live understands that Amanda Staveley and the Toon board were keen on Botman and are ready to go into battle with AC Milan and Spurs to land his signature.
The Ripon financier played a big role in pushing for transfers in January and believes Botman is the type of European star the club should rightly be pushing for these days.
Newcastle can also blow both Milan and Tottenham out of the water when it comes to wages if they wanted but the key will be whether Botman sees the Magpies as serious contenders in the Premier League or not.
There was a feeling from the Botman end in January that the relegation battle was offputting for the centre-back.
Since then Newcastle have landed Brazilian superstar Bruno Guimaraes with the South American buying into the project at St James' Park and not fearing the drop.
Botman had said last month: "Everyone says about Newcastle - it's all about money.
"But it's a very nice project if you look at where Man City and PSG started. I think it would be very nice to be part of that, but Milan is a beautiful club."
Milan are fighting for the title in Italy and are likely to be able to offer Botman Champions League football next term.
For now, Botman must get on with life at Lille as they sit in 10th place in the Ligue 1 table not to mention their Champions League last 16 tie against Chelsea.
Botman knows the spotlight will be firmly on him during the two legs of the Euro showdown and Newcastle scouts will also be adding to their dossier on the defender too.
United also remain interested in Diego Carlos of Seville with centre-back a key area the club believe needs to be strengthened.
There have been talks with soon to be out of contract Fabian Schar but with the Switzerland international celebrating his 31st birthday later this year he will be looking for a lucrative offer knowing it will be the last big payday of his career.
Schar's contract is up in June and he can now talk to European clubs about a pre-contract arrangement.
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