Sven Botman is unsure about leaving Lille in January due to the French club's progression in the Champions League, despite strong interest from several Premier League sides, 90min understands.
The Dutch defender has been a stand-out performer for Lille since joining from Ajax in 2020 for around £7m.
Botman has been watched by numerous clubs across Europe and his representatives have been making his potential availability known.
The 21-year-old is hoping to make the breakthrough into the Netherlands national squad in 2022 ahead of the World Cup finals, and so wants his next move to be the right one.
Botman has also helped Lille into the knockout stages of the Champions League where they will face European champions Chelsea in February, and that is a tie he is keen to feature in.
We understand that Chelsea are one of the clubs who have been scouting him in recent weeks – although watching him is the current extent of their interest.
AC Milan and Newcastle United are currently pushing hardest to secure a deal, while West Ham and Leicester have also made enquiries. But Lille are not in a hurry to sell Botman this month as forward Jonathan Ikone is the one big money departure this month that they have planned for.
Botman has emerged as one of Newcastle’s main targets for January and sources close to Lille have told us that they would not be able to resist a huge offer for him.
Newcastle want to sign a high-calibre defender and had targeted Burnley's James Tarkowski - but a deal for him appears unlikely at this stage even though the England international is out-of-contract in the summer as the Clarets will not sell to one of their relegation rivals. Instead, the Magpies have switched their attentions elsewhere and interest in Botman has emerged.
Botman and his representatives are not wholly convinced that a move to Newcastle and a relegation battle is the right move at this point, although they have not completely dismissed the idea and are willing to listen to the club's offer should they agree terms with Lille.
Source : 90min