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Duncan Castles has told the Transfer Window podcast that Liverpool have opened talks with the agent of Lille defender Sven Botman – and that the player’s agent is confident of a bid from the Premier League champions in January.
Botman, 20, joined Lille from Ajax in the summer having failed to make a single senior appearance for the Dutch outfit. A fee of £7million was initially paid by Lille to sign Botman – who has since starred alongside Jose Fonte at Lille.
He has played every single match for Lille this season in all competitions, clocking up 23 appearances – starting all of those outings. In those games, Botman has helped Lille keep nine clean sheets – but Lille are in financial difficulty.
They need to bring in some cash and transfer expert Castles has claimed Liverpool are trying to take advantage. He says Liverpool have made contact with Botman’s agent, and the representative is confident the Reds will make a January move.
“Liverpool are working on a deal. That is Sven Botman, in his first season at Lille from Ajax for an initial €8million (£7million). He has been outstanding at Lille,” Castles said. “Netherlands squad, 21 next month. Tall, quick, incredibly strong one-on-one.
“They would be willing to sell the player for twice and a little bit more than the fee they paid. They have been speaking to Botman’s agent. Botman’s agent likes the sounds of the conversations and believes there is a strong possibility of a January bid.”
TBR’s view – Botman would be Liverpool’s best option in January
Liverpool could go out and splash £60million on Kalidou Koulibaly, or similar on Dayot Upamecano. But when Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez – as well as Joel Matip – return from injury, Koulibaly or Upamecano would have to drop out.
Would a big player like that be happy warming the bench? Would Liverpool pay premium prices for a player that is not going to play as regularly when van Dijk and Gomez return? Probably not. They need a young player happy to act as cover.
Botman is just that. At a figure that might not even be as expensive as £20million – he is the ideal January signing for Liverpool.
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