Newcastle United have officially unveiled their fifth signing of the summer – Florian Thauvin from Marseille.
The 22-year-old has put pen-to-paper on a six-year deal worth approximately £45,000-a-week after the clubs agreed a fee in the region of €17million (£12million when converted to sterling).
Like our second and third signings of the summer, Mitrovic and Mbemba, Thauvin is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in Europe and has previously won the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award – an accolade previously given to Zinedine Zidane, David Trezeguet and Thierry Henry.
Chief scout, Graham Carr has been a long-term admirer of the Frenchman, tracking him since his Bastia days. Newcastle had made an attempt to land Thauvin when he left Bastia in 2013, but he elected to remain in France and sign for Lille.
Upon signing for the Magpies, Thauvin told the club’s official website: “I am delighted to be a Newcastle United player. I have come from France to a really big club and am very happy to be here.
“It is a big honour to know that Newcastle have been after me for such a long time and that they wanted me that much.
“They have put their trust in me and I am looking forward to playing for the team.”
Steve McClaren also had this to say about his new signing: “Florian is a player the Club have been watching for a long time and I am delighted that we have been able to sign him.
He is a perfect signing for this Club – someone who is young, with great potential and is one of the best young players in Europe.
“He is an exciting, creative talent who can score goals and make assists, and we believe he will have a very bright future at Newcastle.”
As part of the deal, Remy Cabella has joined Marseille on a season-long loan, with an obligatory future fee of €9million.
