On Tuesday, newly promoted Newcastle United completed their second summer signing with the capture of French defender Florian Lejeune from Spanish side Eibar for an undisclosed fee, understood to be around £8.7 million.
The 26-year-old put pen to paper on a five-year deal and, speaking to the club’s official website, Magpies boss Rafa Benitez gave an insight into some of the qualities Lejeune will bring to his side:
“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. If he settles well into English football then I am sure he will be a success and will give us a lot of competition in this area.”
The History
After beginning his career with French amateur side Agde, Lejeune joined Ligue 2 outfit Istres in 2009 following a successful trial.
He played 43 matches over the next two seasons, registering three assists and one goal, converting to a centre-back having arrived at the club as a defensive midfielder.
In July 2011, Lejeune completed a € 1 million move to Villarreal, but he struggled to establish himself in the first-team squad, making just five appearances over the next three seasons.
Lejeune joined French side Brest on loan during the 2013/14 campaign, playing 13 matches in all competitions, before signing for Spanish second-tier club Girona FC in the summer of 2014.
He established himself in the starting XI and scored four goals in 38 league appearances, which led to Manchester City signing the defender in August 2015.
But Lejeune was immediately loaned back to Girona and totalled three goals and two assists from 38 league outings.
Last summer, he joined La Liga outfit Eibar on a four-year deal and enjoyed an impressive campaign, tallying one goal and an assist in 34 league appearances.
Lejeune made seven appearances for France U20s, scoring once, but he has yet to earn a call-up for the senior side.
The Prospects
While Newcastle’s outlay on Lejeune is significant, Benitez’s comments suggest the Frenchman may not automatically command a spot in the starting XI.
The Spaniard installed centre-back Jamaal Lascelles as club captain last season, with the impressive Ciaran Clark his regular partner at the heart of the defence. Chancel Mbemba is also in the mix, albeit on the periphery.
With Benitez such an advocate of a 4-2-3-1 formation, it would seem unlikely that Lejeune has arrived with the move to a three-man backline in mind.
Lejeune has only played regular first-team football over the past few seasons, but he was reportedly the subject of interest from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur earlier this year, suggesting that he has the pedigree to push for consistent starts in a back four.
There is further compelling evidence to suggest that this is the case.
As that report mentions, Lejeune is comfortable in possession, and standing at 6ft 3in tall, he’s also very strong in the air.
In fact, in terms of La Liga form, he is a dominant figure.
While Lejeune ranked seventh for aerial duels won with 115, his success rate of 76.2% was the best in Spain’s top flight.
Digging further, the case for Lejeune as an FPL bonus point darling grows stronger.
His aerial prowess enabled him to top the ranks for clearances in La Liga with 191, and that figure ensured that, for CBI (clearances, blocks and interceptions), he was placed second overall.
Only Germán Pezzella of Real Betis boasted stronger numbers (282 vs 281).
In terms of minutes per CBI, Lejeune, with 10.49, lags behind the current Newcastle centre-back pairing – Clark (7.62) and Lascelles (8.47).
However, it’s difficult, if not impossible to translate statistics between these two levels. Given his standing in La Liga, we should anticipate that Lejeune will be a force in the Premier League for CBI. As a result, he could even emerge as the most likely Newcastle man to benefit from the FPL Bonus Points System.
There is also evidence that Lejeune carries a goal threat.
Again, it’s difficult to compared La Liga with the Championship, but there is some encouragement to be found in this department. Lejeune averages a shot every 106.11 minutes, bettering both Clark (131.91) and Lascelles (153.13).
The Frenchman registered 12 of his 28 shots (39%) from outside the area. While he could take the occasional direct free-kick and long-range effort for the Magpies, those attempts perhaps indicate that we should not overplay a potential for goals just yet. However, his aerial prowess will surely be a key threat on the end of Matt Ritchie deliveries.
As a newly promoted side, most of Newcastle’s defensive starters are expected to be priced at 4.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Lejeune looks likely to come in at that value. But with Lascelles appearing the most likely starter and right-back DeAndre Yedlin another option after producing five assists in 21 starts last term, the new signing will need to be assured of a berth in Benitez’s XI before we can commit.
Analysing the opening fixtures (TOT, hud, WHM, swa, STO, bha), it seems that Magpies defenders will be in demand as budget options for our five-man backlines.
Benitez’s side actually kept more clean sheets (11) in away matches than at home (eight) last season, so those trips to Huddersfield Town, Swansea City and Brighton and Hove Albion appear reasonable match-ups.
In Lejeune, Newcastle look to have signed a dominant centre-back who should boast the quality to command a regular starting spot providing he settles in the north east. Once in the line-up, his statistics suggest that he could, and should, lead the challenge for bonus points if clean sheets arrive.
But with Lascelles perhaps a more assured pick for now, Fantasy managers will hope pre-season provides clearer indications as to Benitez’s thinking come the season kick-off.
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