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Florian Lejeune

Florian Grégoire Claude Lejeune (born 20 May 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Spanish La Liga club Rayo Vallecano.

Florian Lejeune
Lejeune in 2011
Personal information
Full name Florian Grégoire Claude Lejeune[1]
Date of birth (1991-05-20) 20 May 1991 (age 33)[2]
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Rayo Vallecano
Number 24
Youth career
1997–1998 CFF Paris
1998–2000 Ternes Paris
2000–2005 Racing Levallois
2005–2006 Béziers Cheminots
2006–2008 Sète
2008–2009 Agde
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Agde 3 (2)
2009–2011 Istres 42 (3)
2011–2014 Villarreal B 36 (2)
2011–2014 Villarreal 19 (0)
2013–2014 → Brest (loan) 21 (0)
2014–2015 Girona 38 (4)
2015–2016 Manchester City 0 (0)
2015–2016 → Girona (loan) 38 (3)
2016–2017 Eibar 34 (1)
2017–2021 Newcastle United 42 (2)
2020–2021 → Alavés (loan) 34 (1)
2021–2023 Alavés 30 (0)
2022–2023 → Rayo Vallecano (loan) 31 (4)
2023– Rayo Vallecano 37 (3)
International career
2010–2011 France U20 7 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 June 2024

Career

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Early career

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Lejeune was born in Paris and began his football career in July 1998 at the Centre de Formation de Paris, a youth sporting club designed to cater only to football players under the age of 19.[3][4] After four months at the academy, he departed for Racing Club des Ternes, a local sporting club based in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.[3] Lejeune spent two years at the club and, in 2000, was signed by Racing Club de France.[3] He spent the majority of his youth career at the club and, after a five-year stay, moved down south to join Béziers Méditerranée Cheminots, a sports club more known for its athletics department. With Béziers, Lejeune played in the Championnat de France 14 ans Fédéraux league.

After one year at Béziers, Lejeune joined the youth academy of Sète. After two years with the club, he signed an amateur contract with Adge, which was playing in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth level of French football.[5] Lejeune spent the majority of the 2008–09 season playing on the club's reserve team. Towards the end of the campaign, he was called up to the senior team and made his amateur debut on 11 April 2009 appearing as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat to Gazélec Ajaccio.[6] On 23 May, he made his first start in a 3–2 victory over Gap.[7] The following week, Lejeune scored both goals for Agde in a 2–2 draw with Fréjus Saint-Raphaël.[8]

Istres

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In the summer of 2009, Lejeune joined Ligue 2 club Istres on trial. After impressing in two friendly matches, he was signed to a three-year professional contract and inserted onto the club's reserve team.[5] Lejeune arrived at the club playing primarily in the defensive midfielder role, but ultimately switched to the centre back position.[3] His positive play during the fall season with the reserves led to the player being called up to the senior team in January 2010. Lejeune made his professional debut on 19 January in a league match against Guingamp in a 0–0 draw with the player playing the entire match.[9] Lejuene finished the campaign with 14 more appearances in the league playing the entire match in all of them.

Lejeune began the 2010–11 season as a starter and made his season debut in a 4–0 defeat to Ajaccio in the Coupe de la Ligue.[10] In September, he was a surprise inclusion in the France under-20 team.[11] His subsequent uprising into the spotlight and positive play with Istres led to the player being declared one of the best players in Ligue 2, despite only playing in a handful of matches. On 4 January 2011, French newspaper L'Equipe announced that Spanish club Real Madrid was monitoring Lejeune's progress.[12] He was, subsequently, linked to a host of other clubs, notably English clubs Manchester United, Manchester City, and Arsenal and Italian clubs Napoli and Udinese with all the clubs reportedly likening him to former French international Laurent Blanc.[13][14][15] However, despite the speculation, club president Francis Collado declared that he had not had official contact with any club linked to the player.[15]

Villarreal

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Lejeune playing for Villarreal B in 2012

On 7 July 2011, French newspaper L'Equipe confirmed that Lejeune had reached an agreement with Spanish club Villarreal to sign a four-year contract.[16] The transfer fee was priced at €1 million and Lejeune took his medical and signed his contract following the conclusion of his participation in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[16][17] He was placed onto the club's second team. After appearing in seven matches with the B team, Lejeune made his senior team debut on 6 November 2011 appearing as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Espanyol.[18] In January 2013, he was loaned to Ligue 1 side Stade Brestois 29. It was announced in July 2013 that Lejeune would be loaned out to the newly relegated club for another year.[19]

Girona

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After his loan with Brest ended, Lejeune signed a two-year deal with Girona FC also in the second level.[20] He was an undisputed first-choice for the Catalans, scoring his first goal on 8 February 2015, in a 1–0 win at CD Tenerife.

Lejeune finished the campaign with 40 appearances and five goals, as his side narrowly missed out promotion in the play-offs.

Manchester City

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On 28 August 2015 Lejeune was transferred to Manchester City, being immediately loaned back to Girona for one year.[21]

Eibar

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On 29 June 2016, Lejeune signed a four-year deal with SD Eibar.[22]

Newcastle United

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On 4 July 2017, Lejeune joined Newcastle United on a five-year contract.[citation needed] In April 2019, he was ruled out of the rest of the 2018–19 season with a knee injury.[23] Lejeune scored both of his first two goals for Newcastle in injury time of a 2–2 draw with Everton on 21 January 2020.[24]

Alavés

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On 11 September 2020, Lejeune signed for Deportivo Alavés on a one-year loan deal.[25] In July of the following year, he completed a permanent move to the club for an undisclosed fee.[26]

Rayo Vallecano

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On 29 July 2022, Lejeune joined Rayo Vallecano on a season-long loan.[27] Roughly one year later, Rayo announced his permanent signing on a four-year deal,[28] for a reported fee of €2.5 million.[29]

Career statistics

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As of match played 24 May 2023[30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Agde 2008–09 CFA 3 2 0 0 — — 3 2
Istres 2009–10 Ligue 2 14 0 0 0 0 0 — 14 0
2010–11 Ligue 2 28 3 0 0 1 0 — 29 3
Total 42 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 43 3
Villarreal 2011–12 La Liga 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
2012–13 Segunda División 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
Total 5 0 0 0 — 0 0 5 0
Villarreal B 2011–12 Segunda División 27 2 — — — 27 2
2012–13 Segunda División B 9 0 — — — 9 0
Total 36 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 2
Brest 2012–13 Ligue 1 10 0 1 0 0 0 — 11 0
2013–14 Ligue 2 11 0 2 0 1 0 — 14 0
Total 21 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 25 0
Girona 2014–15 Segunda División 38 4 0 0 — 2[a] 1 40 5
2015–16 Segunda División 38 3 0 0 — 3[b] 0 41 3
Total 76 7 0 0 0 0 5 1 81 8
Eibar 2016–17 La Liga 34 1 3 0 — — 37 1
Newcastle United 2017–18 Premier League 24 0 0 0 0 0 — 24 0
2018–19 Premier League 12 0 1 0 0 0 — 13 0
2019–20 Premier League 6 2 3 0 0 0 — 9 2
Total 42 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 46 2
Alavés 2020–21 La Liga 34 1 2 0 — — 36 1
2021–22 La Liga 30 0 1 0 — — 31 0
Total 64 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 67 1
Rayo Vallecano (loan) 2022–23 La Liga 31 4 1 0 — — 32 4
Career total 354 22 14 0 2 0 5 1 375 23
  1. ^ Appearances in the 2015 Segunda División play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in the 2016 Segunda División play-offs

References

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  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Florian Lejeune: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Nouveau cap pour Florian Lejeune" (in French). French Football Federation. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  4. ^ "Histoire du CFFP" (in French). Centre de Formation de Paris. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Lejeune, prénom Florian" (in French). Sport24. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Agde v. Gazélec Ajaccio Match Report". Foot-National (in French). 11 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  7. ^ "Agde v. Gap Ajaccio Match Report". Foot-National (in French). 23 May 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2011.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Fréjus Saint-Raphaël v. Agde Match Report". Foot-National (in French). 23 May 2009. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Guingamp v. Tours Match Report" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Ajaccio v. Tours Match Report" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Florian Lejeune en équipe de France U20" (in French). La Provence. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  12. ^ "Le Real a un oeil sur Lejeune" (in French). L'Equipe. 4 January 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  13. ^ "Man Utd, Man City watching FC Istres defender Florian Lejeune". Tribal Football. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  14. ^ "Calciomercato Napoli e Udinese, interessa il "nuovo Blanc"" (in Italian). Calcio Mercato. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  15. ^ a b "Arsenal join Real in race for defensive starlet Lejeune". Sport.co.uk. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  16. ^ a b "Newcastle United defender Florian Lejeune moves to Alaves on a permanent deal". BBC. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Lejeune (Istres) à Villarreal" (in French). Boursorama. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  18. ^ "Forlin red costs Espanyol". ESPN. 6 November 2011. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  19. ^ "Lejeune reste à Brest" (in French). L'Équipe.fr. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  20. ^ "El Girona ficha a Lejeune" [Girona signs Lejeune] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  21. ^ "El Girona FC traspasa a Lejeune al Manchester City y este lo cede al Club de Montilivi" [Girona FC transfers Lejeune to Manchester City and the latter loans him to the club of Montilivi] (in Spanish). Girona's official website. 28 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  22. ^ "Florian Lejeune, jugador de SD Eibar para las cuatro próximas temporadas" [Florian Lejeune, SD Eibar player for the following four seasons] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Florian Lejeune: Newcastle defender to miss rest of season with knee injury". BBC Sport. 8 April 2019.
  24. ^ "Everton 2-2 Newcastle". BBC Sport. 21 January 2020.
  25. ^ "El defensa Lejeune aterriza en el Deportivo Alavés" [Defender Lejeune arrives at Deportivo Alavés] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  26. ^ "Newcastle's Lejeune moves to Alaves". BBC Sport. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Florian Lejeune nuevo jugador del Rayo Vallecano" [Florian Lejeune Rayo Vallecano's new player]. rayovallecano.es (in Spanish). 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  28. ^ "Lejeune, nuevo refuerzo para el Rayo Vallecano" [Lejeune, new reinforcement for Rayo Vallecano]. www.rayovallecano.es (in Spanish). 28 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  29. ^ "Oficial: Lejeune firma con el Rayo hasta 2027" [Official: Lejeune signs with Rayo until 2027]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 28 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  30. ^ Florian Lejeune at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
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