---
title: "Newcastle: PIF officials watch Sven Botman again"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-pif-officials-watch-sven-botman-again/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "David Comerford"
section: "Newcastle United"
published: "2022-02-20T07:40:44Z"
modified: "2022-02-20T07:40:44Z"
---

# Newcastle: PIF officials watch Sven Botman again

**PIF sent members of Newcastle United’s recruitment team to watch defender Sven Botman during Lille’s Ligue 1 draw with Metz on Friday night, [The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder says](https://twitter.com/lee_ryder/status/1494792919076773894).**

### The lowdown

Centre-back Botman was a [‘priority target’](https://theathletic.com/3102859/2022/02/01/newcastles-wild-transfer-window-no-sleep-hundreds-of-targets-howes-nephew-working-backwards-and-signing-fighters/) for Newcastle during the January transfer window.

They tabled a ‘series of bids’ but, while the player was open to joining, they couldn’t persuade Lille to part with their £27million-rated asset ([Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sven-botman/profil/spieler/361093)).

Newcastle wound up signing another centre-back – Dan Burn from Brighton and Hove Albion – but it seems their interest in Botman remains.

Lille played out a goalless draw with relegation-threatened Metz, leaving them ninth in Ligue 1 ahead of the remaining weekend fixtures.

### The latest

Ryder tweeted on Friday night that ‘NUFC scouts \[were\] watching again’ at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

He suggested that they would have been impressed by a ‘tidy performance’ from the Dutchman at the heart of the defence.

> Tidy performance from Sven Botman for Lille vs Metz. 0-0 but Metz don’t even manage shot on target as Botman controls game with 108 touches no less. [#nufc](https://twitter.com/hashtag/nufc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) scouts watching again.
>
> — Lee Ryder (@lee\_ryder) [February 18, 2022](https://twitter.com/lee_ryder/status/1494792919076773894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

### The verdict

Ryder was clearly liking what he saw, so what did the stats say about Botman’s display?

Well, his [SofaScore](https://www.sofascore.com/metz-lille-osc/THsbI) rating of 7.3/10 was the second-highest in the Lille side, behind only Jonathan Bamba (7.7).

He won all five of his aerial duels, made four clearances, blocked a shot and completed 89 of the 101 passes he attempted – an accuracy of 88%.

You’d suspect that, on the back of this strong outing, Newcastle are even more determined to land the 22-year-old when the summer transfer window opens.

**In other news, [Newcastle are plotting another exciting appointment](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-united-news/newcastle-united-pif-staveley-ashworth-morling-brighton-nufc-news-latest-updates-rumours/).**