Graham Potter has hailed Sven Botman as a 'good player with a high level' after the Brighton boss watched the Newcastle United defender make his full debut for the Magpies at the Amex.
Although Eddie Howe always maintained Botman was ready to play, after a productive pre-season, the Newcastle head coach had initially planned to ease the new arrival in following his big-money move from Lille earlier this summer. However, Howe decided to throw the Dutchman in from the start on Saturday after left-back Matt Targett was ruled out of the goalless draw with a dead leg.
Dan Burn moved across to left-back as a result, where the 30-year-old previously played on a number of occasions for Brighton, and it was Botman who partnered Schar in the heart of the defence. It was certainly a good first test for Botman on an afternoon where Newcastle's backline were very busy during the 0-0 stalemate.
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Nick Pope made brilliant saves to keep out efforts from Adam Lallana and Solly March and Kieran Trippier and Fabian Schar both had to clear shots off the line. The composed Botman coped under pressure, though, as Newcastle kept a clean sheet and the centre-back won all of his aerial duels and completed more than 84% of his passes. That did not necessarily come as a surprise to Potter.
"Obviously, Targett was injured so that forces a change for Eddie," the Brighton manager told reporters. "They've invested a lot of money in the left-sided centre-back. He's a good player with a high level so whoever you play, wherever they play, they're top players."
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