Sven Botman feels he must continue to put Newcastle United first if he has any chance of making the cut for the Netherlands' World Cup squad for Qatar next month.
In a dramatic turnaround, Botman, who walked away from the Under-21s to focus on United last month, made Louis Van Gaal's 39-man provisional list for the tournament. Van Gaal is a stubborn character but he's also not naïve enough to discount Botman after the 22-year-old helped lift Newcastle into the Champions League places in the Premier League.
The Magpies' rise up the table has not gone unnoticed in Holland and Dutch journalists have been assigned to Newcastle games to cover Botman's story. If a squad is picked on current form, Botman should have a reasonable chance of being on the plane alongside stars Virgil van Dijk, Denzel Dumfries and Frenkie De Jong.
