Newcastle United announced on Tuesday that they had completed the signing of Eibar centre-back Florian Lejeune on a five-year deal.
The 26-year-old becomes Rafa Benitez’s second summer signing after the club wrapped up a permanent deal for Christian Atsu in May, as the Spaniard continues to mould his squad following their return to the Premier League last term.
However, he isn’t finished there and is keen to add more players and experience to his squad before their pre-season fixtures and the start of the new campaign in August, in order to ensure the Magpies can steer clear of a relegation battle.
United supporters will certainly hope the arrival of Lejeune and the return of the manager and the squad for training will be a catalyst for more deals to be completed, and the club has certainly been linked with plenty of names in recent weeks.
Here are four players that could follow Lejeune to Newcastle…
Pepe Reina
Benitez is keen to bring in an experienced new number one this summer as he doesn’t believe the likes of Karl Darlow, Rob Elliot and Tim Krul have the quality to play regularly in the Premier League next season, and he has been chasing Napoli goalkeeper Reina since the start of the summer.
It appears to have been something of a long-running saga involving the 34-year-old, who has just one year remaining on his contract with the Serie A giants and is unhappy that he has only been offered a one-year extension.
Having signed him for both Liverpool and Napoli, there is no doubt that Reina could be a big player for the Magpies if he moves to St James’ Park in the coming weeks.
Kamil Grosicki
According to reports in the Newcastle Chronicle, the Magpies are said to be keen on a £10m summer move for Hull winger Grosicki as they look to strengthen in wide areas.
The 29-year-old only joined the Tigers during the January transfer window in a £7m deal from French side Rennes, but despite some impressive performances he couldn’t stop them suffering relegation to the Championship.
The Poland international provided five assists in 15 Premier League appearances last term and the fact that he can play on either flank will certainly appeal to Benitez, who has already brought fellow winger Christian Atsu in on a permanent basis.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
According to reports in The Telegraph earlier this week, Chelsea have decided that highly-rated midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be allowed to leave the club on loan this season, with Newcastle among the teams interested in signing the 21-year-old.
The England Under-21 international would have hoped to have been given a number of opportunities last term after featuring heavily during pre-season under Antonio Conte, but it didn’t prove to be the case as he ended the campaign making just 11 appearances in all competitions.
The tall box-to-box player could certainly add something for Newcastle though if he is given a regular run in the side, and Benitez could be tempted to bring him to St James’ Park.
Ryan Boudebouz
Rafa Benitez is keen to bring in a creative player that can play in the number 10 role having deployed the likes of Ayoze Perez and Mohamed Diame there last season, and he was linked with Montpellier star Boudebouz at the start of the summer.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a successful season with the Ligue 1 outfit – scoring 11 goals and providing a further nine assists in 33 French top flight appearances – and the fact that he can play through the middle or out wide make him an attractive and versatile option.
Having also successfully completed 84 take-ons and created a whopping 117 chances, the Algeria international could excite the St James’ Park crowd and make a real difference from a creative point of view for the side in the Premier League.
Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.