Sven Botman was a 'little bit disturbed' after Lille refused to allow him to join Newcastle United in January but the Dutchman is now about to finally get his wish.
That is according to Jocelyn Gourvennec, who managed Botman at Lille last season, and is well-placed to give an insight into the roots of Newcastle's lengthy pursuit of the highly-rated centre-back. It was during Gourvennec's time at Lille, after all, that Newcastle first made their move for Botman back in the January transfer window.
Although Newcastle were languishing in 19th place at the time, tellingly, Botman was keen on a move to St James' Park. So much so, Botman was willing to swap life in the Champions League with Lille for an immediate relegation battle with the Magpies because of the club's long-term ambitions.
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Lille, however, did not want to sell Botman in the mid-season window and it was only last week that the French side, reluctantly, accepted an offer in the region of £31m plus add-ons from Newcastle. While there was interest elsewhere, Newcastle were the only club willing to stump up the cash after AC Milan failed to meet Botman's asking price.
A move to Milan, the Serie A champions, understandably appealed to Botman but it is important to stress that so, too, did a switch to Newcastle. Gourvennec, who was once on Newcastle's radar, himself, seven years ago when the club were searching for a new head coach, recalled as much when looking back on the Magpies' first bid for Botman back in January.
"Sven was speaking with the president [Olivier Letang] and wanted to speak to me, too," the former Lille boss told ChronicleLive. "I said to him, 'If you have Newcastle now in January, you will have Newcastle in the summer. I think it's better to stay here, to finish your job.'
"We had to prepare for the Champions League against Chelsea. He was a little bit disturbed because he didn't know if he had to accept that in January, but he understood he could finish the job in Lille.
"It's never easy to arrive at a club in January. To adapt is never ideal. He made a good choice to wait. Now I think it will be OK for him. He deserves it.
"It's a good choice for him because he will discover the Premier League. He has all the qualities to perform in the Premier League - I have no doubt about that.
"He's not a star at the moment but people and other players will discover him. You can't be wrong if you made a choice to recruit Sven Botman."
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