Newcastle United make new moves for Sven Botman and Moussa Diaby
Newcastle United are keen to sign Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen
Newcastle United are keen to sign Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen
NEWCASTLE UNITED have stepped up their transfer business significantly in the last 24 hours – and are hoping to kick off their summer business with the twin capture of Lille centre-half Sven Botman and Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby.
Magpies officials have held talks over both players in the last couple of days, and are increasingly confident of being able to land the duo, who are two of head coach Eddie Howe’s key targets ahead of next season.
Members of the Newcastle hierarchy have held talks with Lille board members over Botman, with the 22-year-old having remained their number one central-defensive target since January.
Botman had effectively agreed to move to Tyneside during the January transfer window, only for Lille officials to dig in their heels and reject three separate offers from the Magpies.
Amanda Staveley admitted there was strong interest in the Dutchman when she spoke on the record in the spring, and hinted Newcastle would be making a renewed approach ahead of the summer window.
That has proved to be the case, and while Botman is also the subject of strong interest from Italian champions AC Milan, Newcastle’s recruitment team are confident they will get their man.
Milan can offer Champions League football after winning Serie A, and are understood to be able to match whatever transfer fee the Magpies offer to Lille.
However, having agreed the framework of a wage agreement when they held their initial discussions in January, Newcastle are in a strong position when it comes to negotiating with Botman and his representatives.
The former Ajax trainee is keen to move to the Premier League, and was enthused by the potential of Newcastle’s rebuilding project when it was presented to him in January. The events of the last three months, which saw the Magpies embark on a lengthy winning run as they climbed to their eventual finishing position of 11th, should only have strengthened his optimism.
The strength of Newcastle’s ongoing interest in Botman means they did not feel compelled to make a counter-offer when Aston Villa tied up a deal for Diego Carlos this week.
Like Botman, Carlos was one of the Magpies’ key January targets, with a number of offers having been tabled for the former Sevilla centre-half at the start of the year.
Newcastle were aware of Aston Villa’s growing interest towards the end of the season, but with Howe insisting he would prefer to sign Botman, Newcastle decided not to make another approach for Carlos, who eventually joined Villa for around £26m.
Similarly, while Howe remains a long-term admirer of James Tarkowski, who will become a free agent next month when his contract at Burnley comes to an end, he currently regards the 29-year-old, who is being strongly linked with Everton, as an alternative option if talks over Botman do not go to plan.
As well as pursuing Botman, Newcastle officials have spent the last couple of days closing in on a move for Diaby.
A 22-year-old France international who started his career with Paris St Germain, Diaby joined Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2019.
He has made 92 Bundesliga appearances for Leverkusen in the last three seasons, scoring 22 goals, and made his senior international debut for France in a World Cup qualifier against Bosnia last September.
A wide attacker who can play on either flank, Diaby was involved in 25 Bayer Leverkusen goals last season, scoring 13 goals and also weighing in with 12 assists.
He is contracted to Bayer Leverkusen until the summer of 2025 and is valued at around £40m, meaning Newcastle would have to go extremely close to breaking their transfer record in order to sign him.
Leverkusen have qualified for the Champions League, but sources in Germany claim they are ready to cash in on Diaby in order to generate funds for their own transfer business this summer.
Diaby’s signing would place a major question mark over the future of Miguel Almiron, despite the Paraguayan having ended the season as a regular
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