31-year-old star who was sold by Steve Bruce is now set to return to Newcastle next month

Soccer /

Florian Lejeune is set to return to Newcastle for a friendly against Rayo Vallecano in December.

Domestic football will be suspended for the World Cup in Qatar, meaning clubs will have to go through a mini pre-season before returning in December.

The Magpies have already announced that they will travel to Saudi Arabia for their pre-season mini-training camp next month and will play a friendly against Al-Hilal there.

And they have also announced that their second friendly will be against the Spanish Rayo Vallecano at St. James Park on December 17, in which former player Florian Lejeune will return.

The Frenchman joined the La Liga side on a season-long loan from Alaves in the summer. Steve Bruce was unable to get the most out of Lejeune, whose time at Newcastle was marred by injuries. Rafa Benítez signed him for 8.7 million pounds from Eibar. After a slow start, he settled in well at Newcastle and seemed to be a valuable addition. Ultimately, he was loaned out to Alavés in 2020 and then sold permanently a year later.

He made a total of 46 appearances in all competitions for Newcastle. His most memorable moment at the club was when he scored twice in stoppage time to salvage an impossible draw against Everton.

Florian Lejeune scored twice in as many minutes to earn a dramatic equalizer at Goodison Park!
Everton was leading 2-0 and the match had entered stoppage time, with Carlo Ancelloti’s team certain to win. But then there was Lejeune. The center-back scored two goals in the 94th and 95th minutes to rescue the most unlikely draw.

Share This Event
Scroll to Top