Newcastle United manager boss Rafa Benitez revealed he had been tracking Florian Lejeune for several years after finally signing the defender in an £8.7million deal from Eibar on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Ebiar centre back had been on Benitez's radar since he joined Villarreal in 2011. He made a move to bring the Frenchman to Tyneside at the end of last season but only now has the transfer been completed.
And Benitez said: '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.'
-Daily Mail