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

Posted Saturday, November 05, 2022 by Caughtoffside.com

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

Domestic football will be put on hold for the World Cup in Qatar, which means clubs will have to go through a mini-pre-season before returning in December.

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

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

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 Benitez signed him for £8.7 million from Eibar. After a slow start, he settled in well at Newcastle and appeared to be a valuable addition. He was eventually loaned out to Alaves 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.

31-year-old star who was sold by Steve Bruce is now set to return to Newcastle next month
Florian Lejeune scored twice in as many minutes to snatch a dramatic draw at Goodison Park!

Everton led 2-0 and the game had entered stoppage time, with Carlo Ancelloti’s side certain to win. But then there was Lejeune. The centre-back scored twice in the 94th and 95th minutes to rescue the most unlikeliest of draws.