Florian Lejeune has admitted it was a 'shame' that he did not get to work with Eddie Howe at Newcastle United because he would have really 'struck a chord' with the Magpies head coach.
Howe and his staff have not only transformed once leaky Newcastle into the meanest defence in the Premier League; they have also turned the back four a more proactive unit. Rather than sitting back and looking to hit teams on the counter-attack, as Newcastle did in a previous era, Howe's defenders have been positioned higher up the pitch and Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn are among those players who regularly have the most touches in games.
Schar has perhaps benefited most from this shift in approach as the sole survivor from the Ashley era in Howe's strongest defensive line-up. Schar had been out in the cold before Howe's arrival - failing to play in any of the previous nine games - but the Switzerland international was one of the first names on the team sheet from the get-go under the Magpies head coach.
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However, Howe's arrival came three-and-a-half months too late for another ball-playing centre-back, Lejeune, and the Frenchman had left Newcastle by then because he was not in the plans of predecessor Steve Bruce, who 'didn’t share the same vision of the game'. Lejeune will come up against his former side in a friendly at St James' Park on Saturday, though, and the Rayo Vallecano defender has certainly been impressed by the Magpies' turnaround.
"The new owners appear to have done things very well," Lejeune told ChronicleLive. "Last year, they recruited the players that they needed and who knew the Premier League very well so their recruitment has been very clever and really intelligent for the rest of the season ahead. They’ve also brought in Bruno Guimaraes who brings that added touch of class to midfield at Newcastle.
"As for the new manager, Eddie Howe, he has a great track record with what he did at Bournemouth. He is someone who likes his teams to really play football and bring the game to other teams and you can really see that. It is a shame actually because perhaps I would really have struck a chord with this manager!"
One player who has certainly struck a chord with Howe is Miguel Almiron, the Premier League's player of the month, who had scored seven goals in nine games before the World Cup break. Lejeune still speaks to Almiron nearly every day and the pair have been in touch ahead of their reunion at the weekend.
"What can I say?" Lejeune added. "His performances are quite incredible. He is playing at an amazing level and I am delighted for him as I know things didn’t get off to the best of starts for him.
"But he has always worked hard and fought through and everything that is happening for him now is more than deserved."
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