Botman: Completing mega deal was insane

SVEN Botman has admitted that the last couple of days have been ‘insane’ after the highly-rated defender put pen to paper on a fiveyear contract with Newcastle United.

Newcastle have agreed a deal in principle with Lille to sign the Dutchman, who passed a medical on Monday, and the formalities of the transfer will now be concluded before the week is out.

Botman will then officially become a Newcastle player after already carrying out his in-house media duties and posing for photographs pitchside at St James’ Park with the black and white shirt.

Having cut his holiday short to travel to Tyneside, Botman has returned to Spain for some further time off after only finishing up playing with the Netherlands’ Under-21s on June 11.

After a long wait to get a deal done – Italian champions AC Milan were also very keen on the defender but could not agree a deal with Lille – the Magpies finally have their man and the player said it has been a crazy experience.

“Hectic. Insane actually,” the defender said of his move to Tyneside. “I have earned my air miles again.

“My transfer from Heerenveen to Lille was a nice step, but you can tell from everything that this is a mega deal.”

Eddie Howe welcomed back the majority of his squad to Newcastle’s training ground yesterday for the first day of pre-season.

But the Magpies’ head coach wants to ensure his international players, such as Botman, have a proper break after a particularly long season.

It won’t be long until the towering Dutchman meets his new team-mates, though, and England international Kieran Trippier and attacking dynamo Allan Saint-Maximin have been among those to reach out during an eventful week.

“A lot is coming at me,” former Ajax academy graduate Botman added of his move to England. “Although that is partly my own fault because I want everything - from the house to car and from a bank account to an English phone number - to be arranged before the training sessions start.”