The 2020/21 Premier League season draped its curtains to a close, another enthralling year of action concluded. Newcastle United finished 11th, but the 62 goals conceded was the heaviest tally of any side in the top 14.
Not to worry though, the PIF club takeover in October 2021 preceded the managerial appointment of Eddie Howe, who orchestrated a second-half-of-season turnaround to secure a comfortable finish acres away from the lower echelon of the table, where the Magpies were moored upon the 45-year-old’s arrival.
Last season, the transformative effect that the changing of the wind has had could not have been any more emphatic, with the diligent moves made on the transfer front resulting in a season culminating in Champions League qualification and a Carabao Cup final contest against Manchester United, which the Toon lost 2-0.
Most impressive was the way Howe combined the cogs to create a truly cohesive and unified outfit, fighting for each other and drilled with an unwavering understanding of the system, resulting in a fourth-placed finish ahead of the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Howe’s side completed the campaign with the division’s joint-best defence – alongside champions Manchester City – in a remarkable reshaping and remoulding of a formerly leaky backline.
While the likes of Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and goalkeeper Nick Pope have all been instrumental, with the resurgence of Fabian Schar also playing a major part, it is surely Sven Botman who has been the catalyst for change, with the Dutchman simply superlative since arriving in 2022.
How much did Newcastle spend on Sven Botman?
Newcastle completed the signing of Botman in July 2022 for a reported £35m, arriving from French side Lille, and exhibited their newfound might by beating AC Milan – who had just won Serie A – to his signature.
It wasn’t the most expensive signing of the new era at St. James’ Park, that one went to Bruno Guimaraes, who arrived for £40m the previous winter market, but it was similarly paramount to the restoration of a thriving side that had lay dormant for decades.
And the turnaround speaks for itself, with Botman not just instilling his first-class quality but a sense of leadership and togetherness that bred the sensational success that has been embedded in Howe’s side ever since.
How much is Sven Botman worth now?
According to CIES Football Observatory, Botman is now worth £43m, but the real value of his skill set is surely much higher; quite simply, he is integral in all that United seek to achieve, and his presence has restored Schar and allowed shot-stopper Pope to thrive, with the assurance that his burden is lessened by a rock-solid defence.
Having been hailed as a “beast” by football writer Matt Spiro in the months preceding his transfer to Tyneside, the one-time Ajax youngster is now a defender who would be in line for a starting berth at any outfit across Europe, and while he is yet to make his debut for the Oranje national team, he will surely cement his signature as an ever-present on the starting team sheet in the near future.
It’s worth noting that he is still very young, especially for a centre-back, and will only continue to burgeon over the coming years, with Football Transfers delineating a rise in market value from £8m in 2020 to £42m just two years later, when he signed for the Magpies.
A profound achievement, and one that will indeed only continue to grow for a titan who is truly a “Rolls Royce defender“, according to Newcastle World’s Jordan Cronin.
Why is Sven Botman worth that much?
The £90k-per-week centre-back has been first-rate since his arrival, hailed for his “incredible impact” on the team by pundit Leon Osman and providing the commanding, imperious sense of authority that squads striving for honours and glory on the European scene require.
Last season, as per Sofascore, the 23-year-old made 35 starting appearances in the Premier League and kept 11 clean sheets, also completing 87% of his passes, winning 67% of his duels and averaging 3.3 clearances per game.
This term, despite only plating five divisional matches thus far having been hampered by injury, the 6 foot 4 colossus has been even more formidable, completing 92% of his passes, making 0.4 key passes as opposed to 0.1 last year, making 6.2 ball recoveries per match and winning 69% of his duels.
It’s no wonder that Paris Saint-Germain came calling in the summer with hopes of tempting Newcastle into selling their prized defender, with the Northern Echo reporting back in March that while the Ligue 1 champions had been expected to ramp up their interest, there was simply no way Howe would grant his departure.
Waxing lyrical over his qualities, pundit Jamie Redknapp once said: “Botman at the back, we’ve seen some good centre-backs in this league [but] he’s got the capabilities to be better than them. He’s a real leader of men, what a special player he is.”
A danger at both ends, as per FBref, Botman ranks among the top 14% of centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90, which illustrates an aptitude in winning balls from corners and Trippier’s deadly set-pieces.
Indeed, he has already posted a goal and assist apiece from the five matches he has played in the English top-flight so far, and as he continues to make the increments to his overall game, Newcastle will only become even more formidable.
Sites such as CIES Football Observatory might value Botman at £43m, but this is probably not an apt reflection of his true worth; should teams such as PSG truly come calling, Newcastle would demand figures to make the Saudi Pro League revolution stop in its tracks.
He is simply unsellable, irreplaceable, implacable at the heart of the Magpies’ defence, and as Newcastle continue to burgeon, so shall he further cement his name among Europe’s elite centre-halfs.
