Rayo Vallecano defender Florian Lejeune has admitted that playing in the Premier League with Newcastle was his ‘dream’.
The defender joined Newcastle from SD Eibar in a €10m deal in 2017 on a five-year deal, with then manager Rafa Benítez looking to strengthen his defence. However, injuries hampered his stay at St James Park, where he spent four years making just 46 appearances and never became a regular.
His worst injury was a torn ACL in 2018, which caused him to miss 21 games that season, followed by a knee injury the following year that saw him miss 18 games and spend 212 days on the treatment table.
In a bid to reignite his career, Lejeune joined Deportivo Alavés on a one-year loan in September 2020, joining the club permanently in July the following year for an undisclosed fee. And the Frenchman affirms that he has no resentments or regrets for his move to England, in fact, he remembers it with great affection.
He told AS (h/t Sport Witness):
“It was a dream to play in England and when Benítez called me for Newcastle I didn’t hesitate”.
“In the beginning everything was fine, but in the pre-season I injured my cruciate muscle. I had surgery in Rome and came back pretty quickly.
“Then I played 13 or 14 games in a row and broke the one in my other leg. It was a hard blow.”
