Newcastle issue Sven Botman ultimatum after Lille move goalposts at 11th hour - The Telegraph
A big exclusive has emerged from The Telegraph's Luke Edwards on our never-ending pursuit of Sven Botman - and it's not the update we were all hoping for.
He reports that we are 'ready to walk away' from a deal to sign the 22-year-old defender due to Lille changing the goalposts on price.
Just as the club were closing in on a £30m deal for the Dutchman, it's believed the Ligue 1 side have now upped their asking price to £36m.
As a result, it's believed 'extremely annoyed' Newcastle United chiefs will send a 'take it or leave it ultimatum' to Lille, warning that we'll withdraw our offer and move on to other targets if they continue to mess us about.
The Telegraph insist that a deal looked to have been 'agreed' last week, with the club confident that personal terms would not have been a problem and the player himself keen to sign at St James' Park.
With that in mind, it'll be interesting to see how Botman reacts to this latest development, especially when he seemed eager - based on recent interviews - to sort out his future ahead of the resumption of pre-season training.
Could he attempt to force through a move after this latest setback? Or could his club see sense after seeing our no-nonsense reaction?
Either way, it seems an improved bid won't be forthcoming from Newcastle, meaning Lille may have to back down if we wish to land the highly-rated centre-back we've been trying to sign for over six months now.
Should they stand firm and the move break down, it'll be interesting to see who we pursue next, with left-sided centre-backs like Man City's Nathan Ake, Frankfurt's Evan Ndicka and Monaco's Beniot Badiashile all heavily linked.
