Lille have stated multiple times that Sven Botman would not move in January, but Milan have not completely given up yet. The Rossoneri have yet to fully pivot to another target. They believe the situation could still change in the final stretch of the window.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Milan continue to hold feeble hopes to sign the Lille defender behind the scenes. The ownerships of the two clubs have a great relationship and arranged multiple deals in recent years. The Italian team will wait until the final days before eventually bringing in somebody else.
Les Dogues president Olivier Letang again addressed the Dutch defender during the unveiling of Hatem Ben Arfa: “We are in the middle of January, and we do not know what could happen before deadline day. It is very important to us to have a very competitive squad because we are going after important objectives. I already said that I want to keep Botman. We have not opened any negotiation for him for that reason. We have a complete roster now.”
Japhet Tanganga is gaining momentum as an alternative if Milan could not strike a deal with Lille. Tottenham informed them that they needed him until Monday’s match. However, they are ready to discuss him if Cristian Romero proves to be fit enough after an injury, the transfer market expert relays. The two sides could agree to a loan move. After stiffening up initially, Manchester United seem more open to the same formula for Eric Bailly now.