Newly promoted Newcastle strengthened their centre back options with the acquisition of French defender Florian Lejeune. Lejeune played his football with Spanish side Eibar last season scoring 1 goal and keeping 9 clean sheets in 37 appearances for the club. The fee is believed to be around £8.7 million which is a sufficient amount for a newly promoted side.
Florian Lejeune was previously on the books at Manchester City but failed to make an appearance as he was sent out on loan to Spanish side Girona where he helped keep 17 clean sheets in 41 games. Florian Lejeune said:
“I’m very happy to have signed. Newcastle United is a big club, and I’m very happy to be here”.“When you have a manager like Rafa Benitez who wants you, it was an easy decision for me to come here.”
Manager Rafa Benitez added:
“I would like to welcome Florian to Newcastle United. He is a player that has done very well this year in Spain. I have known about him for a while, since he began playing for Villarreal.
“He has progressed a lot as a player in the last few years and I know he will give us something different at the back – he is good with both feet, he’s big and he’s good in the air also.
Fantasy Premier League Potential
To say Lejeune’s disciplinary record isn’t great is an understatement which could be a key factor into whether he would potentially make a place in your team. Throughout his career of 144 appearances he has racked up 55 yellow cards and 5 red cards. This disciplinary issue can be costly when it comes to Fantasy Premier League.
The defensive partnership last season of Ciaran Clark and Jamal Lascelles was a major reason why Newcastle returned to the Premier League at the first time of asking. This makes it hard to believe Lejeune will get a decent amount of game time unless Benitez opts to go 3 or 5 at the back. Lejeune is priced at 4.5m meaning he is the same as both Lascelles and Clark.
Club Captain Lascelles has an impressive 4.5% ownership whereas Clark and Lejeune both are owned by just 0.9%. This suggests that FPL managers are indecisive as to which central defender will have a pace in Newcastle’s starting XI. Personally I would play it safe with a Newcastle full back if you want a defender from the Magpies.
Newcastle’s opening fixtures are as follows: Tottenham (H), Huddersfield (A), West Ham (H), Swansea (A) and Stoke (H). These first five fixtures could potentially be tempting for FPL managers.
If you have enjoyed this early view of the fantasy potential of those moving teams this transfer window, be sure to check the others here.
Written by Harry Clark (@HarryClark67)
