Sven Botman has admitted that though it was “nice to hear” that clubs like Liverpool were reportedly interested in him during the winter window he remains focused on the remainder of his season with Lille.
That being said, the centre-back did concede that has “dreamed” about a potential switch to the Premier League.
The Ligue 1 outfit are defying all the odds this year, leading the French league by three points over PSG – who have dominated of late – with only two fixtures remaining.
“It is a good compliment when you hear these clubs are interested,” the Dutchman told The Athletic.
“I’m lying if I say it’s not interesting me — it’s the first time such big clubs are linked to me — but it was early days because in January I was only at Lille for half a season.
“It was nice to hear but I was focusing on Lille and I’m still doing this. After the season I will enjoy a vacation and see what happens next.
“If I’m honest, the Premier League is one of the leagues I dreamed about… but also Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga. The Premier League is somethign special.
“It’s the football I really like and that fits me. The style of play, the emotion; I really like to see the fans with such big emotions in the stands.”
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A potential title victory would mark the club’s first since the 2010/11 campaign, a remarkable achievement that will likely only further serve to raise the stocks of some of the side’s talented players – including Botman.
Though the 21-year-old is on a lengthy contract with Les Dogues, the financial ramifications of COVID-19, which have been said to have hit the French league particularly hard, could allow any interested party an opportunity to invest in top, promising talents on the cheap.
As far as our own transfer prospects are concerned, however, the likely signing of Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig suggests that the former Ajax man may not be in the recruitment team’s sights for the upcoming window.
Nonetheless, given the unreliability of Joel Matip’s fitness, one might reasonably argue that another centre-half is a must, at which point it comes down to whether we are prepared to invest in loanee Ozan Kabak or seek fresh talent from abroad.