Newcastle United’s move for France under-21 goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen is both a statement of intent and a mission statement.
If you wanted an insight into how things will be different this summer, spending upwards of £15m – the final fee is yet to be agreed, despite positive talks on Friday – on a young goalkeeper with no experience above Ligue 2 is it.
Club insiders have long argued that financial restrictions mean Newcastle cannot afford to shop solely for players regarded as the “finished article” but recruitment has not always reflected that. Now it appears they are about to practice what they preach.
In Jaouen Newcastle would certainly be buying potential – and it is just one piece of a larger goalkeeper jigsaw at St James’ Park. Last season’s number one Nick Pope is available for transfer and has attracted interest from Ipswich. If he goes Newcastle are almost certain to move to bring in another goalkeeper.
The i Paper understands that Newcastle are yet to hold detailed discussions with Odysseas Vlachodimos, who excelled on loan at Sevilla, but the intention is to sell him this summer.
The Greece international has a long-term deal at St James’ Park but he wants to play regularly and Newcastle hope to capitalise on his fine loan spell. He has interest from Spain and Germany, although Sevilla are unlikely to be able to afford to bring him back.
Before that they have to finalise the move for Jaouen and there’s optimism on that front. The player is keen and while Newcastle sources played down talk that an agreement had been brokered on Friday, he could be on Tyneside early next week for a medical.
Pope’s future is uncertain (Photo: Getty)Newcastle want to broker quick business this summer after the sale of Anthony Gordon unlocked their ability to spend. They want to add a left-sided forward, right-back and a “No 6” to give them more versatility in how they play under Eddie Howe next season.
But shaking up a goalkeeping department that had gone stale was always a key priority. Jaouen, who is 6ft 6ins and plays out well from the back, scored well on a number of metrics and has also passed the ‘sniff test’ when their scouts have watched him. They believe he has an incredibly high ceiling.
What are Newcastle getting from Jaouen?
Few know Jaouen as well as former Newcastle forward Demba Ba, the sporting director and part owner of Dunkerque, where the goalkeeper spent a fascinating season on loan in the 2024-5 season.
Ba tells The i Paper that he’s “excited” by the signing and recalls how Jaouen “became a different beast” during his spell at Dunkerque. He speaks of a “quiet, humble, hard-working and dedicated” person who impressed behind the scenes.
“We are a club that develops players – he came to us with just seven senior games but we decided to make him our No 1 goalkeeper,” Ba says.
“Unfortunately his first two games were not great, he had made a couple of mistakes which cost us some points but we’d decided to go with a goalkeeper who was 18 so we had to be prepared for him to make some mistakes.
“After a couple of games he got booed by the fans and our coach eventually decided to take him out of the side to protect him. We had another goalkeeper [Adrian Ortola] who was a little bit more experienced so the coach changed it.
“The kid took it very well, we talked to him and he was like ‘I made mistakes, I need to get better’. Because he’s a very quiet guy you don’t know if he was hearing it the right way or how it felt about it so I paid a lot of attention to him and his confidence.
“I think that was the best thing for him and his career. Why? Because right after this he became the second goalkeeper for a few games, he accepted it, he stepped aside and he grew so much.
“He was looking at the first choice goalkeeper at the time – Ortola – and from my point of view he’s the best goalkeeper in France, first or second division, to build from the back. He learned a hell of a lot from him when it came to playing from back and short passes.
“He looked at the other goalkeeper and instead of being mad because he took his spot he took a step back, looked at how the goalkeeper was doing and well and learned.
“Two months from the end of the season the number one got injured so Jaouen came back in and was a different beast.”
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Pete Hall: Five clubs considering £26m Rashford transfer – including Newcastle Mark Douglas: Inside Everton’s £50m summer transfer plans – with five key targetsThe high spot of his time on the north coast? Stepping up to take a winning penalty against Lille during Dunkerque’s impressive French Cup run.
“The personality he showed in that moment I was amazed. It sums up a bit who he is – a guy who works hard and takes responsibility.”
What else will Newcastle do this summer?
The Magpies are aiming to do quick business and are – in the words of one insider – “spinning plenty of plates”.
Victor Munoz of Osasuna is a target to replace Gordon but Nigerian teenager Zadok Yohanna, of AIK, looks set to join Chelsea.
Newcastle had held talks with the Swedish club but sources stressed no bid had been lodged for the winger.
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