Reputable journalist Fabrizio Romano has dismissed reports claiming that Lille defender and Liverpool target Sven Botman had agreed on a summer transfer to an unnamed European club.
The 21-year-old who was widely speculated to be the Reds’ central defensive priority early in the January window, was reported by Canal+ (via Get French Football News) to have secured a summer move for a fee in the region of €40m-45m (£34.9m-£39.3m).
However, Romano acted to quash the rumours whilst confirming interest from the Reds, with the player’s agent describing the latest report as ‘fake news’.
Twitter: Sven Botman will certainly be a key player in the summer transfers market, but there’s still no agreement with any… https://t.co/F7TrRWk7vt (@FabrizioRomano)
Despite speculation to the contrary in the early weeks of the January transfer window, the Italian journalist has stated Botman has ‘never been close’ to leaving the Ligue 1 club to this point.
Lille manager Christophe Galtier has previously hailed Botman as a ‘leader’ despite his relative inexperience, further encouraging major European interest next summer.
READ LIVERPOOL VERDICT
This is good and bad news for Liverpool, who could either perceivably still be in the hunt or the Dutchman or could be less advanced in the deal than many may had hoped.
The furore around Botman going to Anfield looks in hindsight like a somewhat knee-jerk reaction to the Reds’ defensive crisis, especially as it took until deadline day for any new signings to be made.
Jurgen Klopp could well re-enter the market for a long-term centre-back solution, with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip’s injury absences an all-too-common occurrence.
Having made giant strides in his short career to date, Botman looks destined for big things, and Liverpool would be foolish to pass up on his potential.
