Sven Botman is Atalanta's first choice to replace Cristian Romero should he join Tottenham and they have a free run at the Dutchman as things stand; an array of Premier League clubs have tracked him but are yet to make interest concrete
Wednesday 28 July 2021 11:00, UK
Premier League clubs are yet to make any serious noises about Lille's exciting 21-year-old Sven Botman.
The Dutchman is the first choice of Atalanta to replace Cristian Romero, who is the subject of a proposed move to Tottenham, and Botman would be keen to speak to the Serie A club.
Atalanta will play Champions League football next season but Botman is also open to moving to the Premier League - and a number of English clubs tracked him during his breakthrough season.
West Ham are said to be the most keen followed by Crystal Palace and Newcastle, while newly-promoted Norwich have monitored him since he was a youth at Ajax, but none have registered concrete interest yet this summer.
Top clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are also admirers, but they are not yet convinced he is ready for their level after just one full season of regular top-flight football.
Lille took a gamble on Botman when he was yet to make an Eredivisie appearance for Ajax, replacing Gabriel when he signed for Arsenal having spent the previous season on loan at Heerenveen.
Yet he was superb for head coach Christophe Galtier, making 37 appearances as Lille won the title over Paris Saint-Germain, plus eight more impressive displays in the Europa League, before starring for the Netherlands' U21s at the European Championships last month.
Lille want to keep him but - like all of Ligue 1 - their finances have been seriously impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and their model is based on buying young players to develop them and sell them on.
Sky Sports News has been told that, should a team come in with a similar offer to the £27m they earned for Gabriel, Lille could give it genuine consideration - and Bundesliga clubs are also keeping tabs on his situation.
But it remains to be seen whether anyone from the Premier League would be prepared to join the competition, despite Botman also being a commodity as a left-footed centre-half and with the physical attributes to make it in the UK.
