Florian Lejeune was one of Newcastle’s six summer signings.
Newcastle United defender Florian Lejeune has told France Football that talks between him and Rafa Benitez had begun before the end of the 2016-17 season.
The Guardian claim 26-year-old defender Lejeune joined the club for a fee of £8.7million from Spanish outfit Eibar in the summer, putting pen to paper on a five-year deal at St. James’ Park.
Although he suffered an injury on the opening day of the season in a 2-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, Frenchman Lejeune played 11 consecutive Premier League matches before missing the 3-2 win over West Ham last time out.
Lejeune stated that his “decision was quick” after conversing with Benitez “a lot” in the lead up to his move to Newcastle, which was eventually confirmed on July 4.
“It was done very early, before the last matches of the season I received a call from Rafael Benitez, we exchanged a lot,” Lejeune said.
“I wanted to discover England but not in any club. Newcastle is a legendary club and can go with one of the best coaches in the world, so my decision was quick.”
Now considered first-choice at St. James’ Park alongside captain Jamaal Lascelles, Lejeune has established himself as a defender that is dominant in the air but more than capable of playing with his feet.
He goes up against Manchester City on Wednesday night, his former side of whom he left to join Eibar in July 2016 with the Toon looking to pull of a huge surprise against Pep Guardiola’s men.
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