Chelsea are being linked with a move for Newcastle defender Sven Botman today by rumour site CaughtOffside.
The Blues are always looking for talented players at the right back, and given this season’s struggles, could definitely use some help at centre back.
Botman has had injuries himself, but when fit he looks a class act in the Magpies defence, a physical presence also capable of playing out from the back nicely.
Newcastle making new contract for defender a priority
“There’s been a delay to sorting out a new contract for Botman due to the change in sporting director at Newcastle,” a source told the rumour site.
“But a new deal for Botman is one of [sporting director] Ross Wilson’s top priorities. Newcastle are calm about the situation. They don’t want to sell, and he’s yet to signal that he wants to leave.”
Another source apparently said “Chelsea have been tracking Botman for a while.”
At 25, the Dutch international is older than the players we tend to sign under the new ownership, but his contract situation makes him a potential bargain target. If the Magpies don’t get a deal done this summer, the former Lille defender will be a free agent in the summer of 2027, and at that point we could see a lot of interest in him.
But that is a long way off, and we’re not getting carried away yet.
In other news…
Chelsea’s set piece battle against Wolves tomorrow is going to be fascinating, and Maresca was asked whether he would be repeating the tactic he used against Tottenham a week ago to counteract the threat from set pieces.
Another major topic in the presser was Romeo Lavia, whose constant injury problems are affecting the whole squad, and not just him now. Maresca admitted it was becoming a problem.