Newcastle United are not giving up on their top defensive target Sven Botman.

The Magpies were unsuccessful in persuading Lille to part with Botman in January.

However, the Mirror suggests that if Newcastle avoid relegation, manager Eddie Howe believes they can nab Botman ahead of Serie A giants AC Milan in the summer.

Lille would be more willing to sell at that stage, given they would have ample time to reinvest the money in their squad.

For his part, defender Botman recently said: "Newcastle is working on a great project and I thought it would be fun to be a part of it. Especially if you look at where Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain once started.

"I can confirm both Newcastle and AC Milan were concrete options this winter.

"Both were good options for me, I was ready to take the next step."