AC Milan are hoping to confirm the signings of Sven Botman and Renato Sanches from Lille by the end of this week, 90min understands.
The Rossoneri have long been confident of securing both deals and they are finally closing in on the pair following their recent £1.2bn takeover.
Sanches would join off the back of another promising season for Lille where he registered two goals and five assists in 25 Ligue 1 games.
Botman represents perhaps the bigger coup, though. The centre-back turned down an approach from newly-monied Newcastle in January and has remained the Magpies’ top defensive target this summer.
90min recently reported that the Premier League side were ready to gazump Milan’s offer for Botman. However, sources have now suggested that the Rossoneri’s recent takeover has provided them with the impetus to get the deal over the line.
Although Botman’s agents have remained in contact with Newcastle in recent times the player has indicated that his preference is to join the Serie A champions.
Asked about his prospective move to San Siro while on international duty, Botman confirmed that things were moving forward promisingly.
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“We are working on it. It’s difficult for me to get away from things at the moment, I hear something about this situation almost every day. Things are progressing and I hope there will be more clarity before the pre-season training camp starts,” he told ESPN.nl.
Although Newcastle would be disappointed not to land Botman, they have a long list of summer targets they can now explore. The Magpies are close to signing Reims youngster Hugo Ekitike and they are also fans of Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby among many others.
Meanwhile, Milan are hopeful of confirming the arrivals of both Sanches and Botman by the end of this week as they look to build on a fantastic season.
