Newcastle defender Paul Dummett has heaped praise on his new team mate Florian Lejeune, but asserts that there is now “a lot of competition” for spots in Rafa Benitez’s plans.
The Magpies signed Lejeune for a reported £8.8m from Eibar earlier this summer, and he made his unofficial debut in a friendly against Hearts on Friday.
The 26-year-old centre-back came on as a half-time substitute in the 2-1 win over the Scottish Premiership side, and he undoubtedly impressed all of those who were there to see.
Dummett spoke glowingly of the Frenchman in an interview with the Chronicle Live.
“The lads will all agree with me that since the first day of training he’s fit straight in,” he said about Lejeune.
“He’s comfortable on the ball as we saw against Hearts and he’s a big unit and he’s strong as well. He’s also good in the air. He has a lot of attributes he can bring to our team and he can bring a lot of competition.”
Lejeune only spent one season at Eibar after joining them last summer in a £1.5million switch from Manchester City, but he was a key player for the club last season.
He made 37 appearances across all competitions in an Eibar shirt, and helped them to a tenth-place finish in La Liga.
The 26-year-old began his career with Istres, but since then he has played for Villarreal and Stade Brest, as well as spending a season at City which saw him farmed out on loan to Girona.
Lejeune was capped seven times by France Under-20s in his youth, but he is yet to be included in his nation’s senior squad.
Dummett and the Frenchman could line-up together in Newcastle’s back line next term, as they did against Hearts on Friday night.