Newcastle United set to seal £35m deal for Lille defender Sven Botman

Dutchman poised to become third signing of summer for Premier League club

Newcastle first tried to sign Lille defender Sven Botman in January. AP

Newcastle United are set to complete a £35 million ($42.9m) deal to sign defender Sven Botman from French club Lille.

A transfer fee of £31m, that will rise to £35m after add-ons, has been agreed for the Dutch defender who will arrive on Tyneside next week to finalise the move.

Botman will become Newcastle's third signing of the summer after the arrival of left-back Matt Targett from Aston Villa and England goalkeeper Nick Pope from Burnley.

Targett, 26, enjoyed a successful loan spell at the Premier League club last season and joined on a permanent £15m deal two weeks ago, while Pope, 30, was signed for £10m on Friday.

Newcastle tried to sign Botman during the January transfer window but were unable to reach an agreement with the Ligue 1 club for a player who was also wanted by Italian champions AC Milan.

Securing the 22-year-old's signature represents a coup for the club who finished 11th in the table last season, despite looking set for relegation after winning just once in their first 19 games.

Newcastle, who were taken over by a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium in October and replaced manager Steve Bruce with Eddie Howe a month later, enjoyed a stellar second half of the season.

A busy January transfer window saw the squad boosted by the arrival of Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Dan Burn, Targett, and Bruno Guimaraes.

Newcastle 2021/22 season ratings

The likes of Fabian Schar, Jonjo Shelvey, Joelinton and Ryan Fraser all saw a resurgence in form under Howe's guidance as Newcastle picked up 38 points in 2022 – a figure only bettered by Liverpool (51) Manchester City (43), and Tottenham Hotspur (41).

Newcastle have also been trying to sign another Ligue 1 player in Reims striker Hugo Ekitike but the club have grown increasingly frustrated that a deal has not been completed for the highly rated 20-year-old.

Newcastle tried to sign Ekitike in January but he opted to remain in France and now reports suggest the player's agent is asking for a fee the Magpies are unwilling to meet.

Howe is looking to strengthen his attacking options and provide competition for the injury-prone Callum Willson and January signing Wood, who only managed only two goals in 17 games after moving from Burnley.

Newcastle remain interested in Ekitike but look set to move on to other targets, with Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin reported to be on their wish list.

But with the Merseyside club seemingly prepared to sell Brazilian attacker Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur, the chances of Calvert-Lewin also being allowed to leave seem unlikely.