Newcastle have announced they have signed Eibar defender Florian Lejeune on a five-year deal for a reported £8.7m.
Lejeune, 26, is the second player to join Newcastle this summer after the newly promoted Premier League side made Christian Atsu’s switch from Chelsea permanent in May.
Rafa Benitez has grown frustrated by Newcastle’s lack of transfer activity after missing out on Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham but he has at least now secured a top transfer target to bolster his defensive options.
“I’m very happy to have signed. Newcastle United is a big club, and I’m very happy to be here,” he told the club’s official website.
“When you have a manager like Rafa Benitez who wants you, you are very happy to come. Since I’ve been in touch with the manager, it was an easy decision for me to come here.”
Florian Lejeune: Made more clearances (191) than any other player in La Liga last season pic.twitter.com/q4Hp158UUy
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 6, 2017
The former France U20 international previously spent 12 months at Manchester City, but left to join Eibar last summer without playing a single game for the Premier League giants.
Not only did Lejeune make more clearances (191) than any other player in La Liga last season, he also had the best aerial duel success of players that attempted at least 50 duels last term (76.2%).
For more stats on Florian Lejeune, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
