Newcastle United centre-back Sven Botman has withdrawn from the Holland Under-21 squad - because he wants to focus solely on playing for the Magpies.
The 22-year-old has been overlooked by Louis Van Gaal for the Dutch national side for games in the UEFA Nations League and instead was picked again for the U21s for friendly matches against Belgium and Romania. Botman though has pulled out of Erwin van de Looi's squad this morning.
Botman told the Dutch FA that he wants to focus "exclusively" on Newcastle at this time. The centre-back was dropped by Eddie Howe for the 1-1 draw against AFC Bournemouth.
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Explaining his reasons, Howe said: "Sven is going to be an outstanding player and will play many, many games for this club. "We love him to bits, but Dan just gets the nod at the moment."
Botman has told Dutch FA chiefs that getting into the Newcastle side is more important than playing junior international friendly matches for the Holland U21s. Botman has been left out of the Newcastle team in the Premier League three times since making the £34million move from Lille.
Whether it proves to be a gamble, with Holland at the World Cup later this year, remains to be seen. Van Gaal had seemingly already made his mind up on Botman but injuries could have offered him a route back.
Van Gaal is a tough customer and may not take too kindly to Botman leaving the Holland camp so close to a major tournament.
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