Florian Lejeune, who was signed by Newcastle United last year in summer, went on to have an impressive debut season at the St. James’ Park. The defender joined from Spanish outfit Eibar and after a captivating performance in the first season, he is being linked with a move back to La Liga where Sevilla are interested in having him.
According to reports, the Spanish outfit has made the Frenchman their top priority in the transfer window and apparently, they are close to preparing a bid to sign the 27-year-old defender. The reports suggest that Rafael Benitez rates him highly and he doesn’t want to sell the Frenchman after just one year but it is yet not clear whether the Spanish tactician will stay with the Magpies and that has certainly bolstered Sevilla’s hope of signing the defender.
Reportedly, the Spanish outfit has kept £13m off the budget to secure the move for the defender. However, as of now, it seems highly unlikely that Newcastle United will sell their man to play at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium next season.
The Toons paid £8.8m to secure the defender after they activated his release clause and the Tyneside club believes that after a good outing in the Premier League, his valuation has certainly doubled.
The Frenchman made 24 appearances in the Premier League and slowly went on to form a formidable partnership with Jamaal Lascelles. Initially, Rafael Benitez preferred Ciaran Clark over him but Lejeune soon won him over and was especially impressive in the latter half of the season which helped the Toons to secure a top half finish.
Many would have expected Newcastle to fight for relegation but under Benitez, they have been defensively organised and disciplined and it has been tough for opponents to break them down. Lascelles went on to win Newcastle’s player of the season award and he, along with Lejeune, deserves a lot of credit for bringing in a new sense of hope among the Magpies faithful.
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There is no way Benitez should let Lejeune go as he is in the prime of his career and after bagging significant amount of experience in the Premier League, he will certainly improve further. A move to Sevilla might be tempting as he will get chances to play in European competitions but at the moment, under Benitez, his game has gone up a notch and one doesn’t see him leaving after just one year at St.James’s Park.
