Florian says he is loving Tyneside life
GRAEME Souness once said that life in Newcastle was like “living in a goldfish bowl” – yet Florian Lejeune says he can’t get enough of life in the North East.
Incoming European stars often head for the so-called bright lights of London, while others end up leaving St James’ Park after using the club as a stepping stone.
However, Lejeune is happy on Tyneside and hopes that his debut season with the Magpies will only make him stronger for the 2018/19 season.
When asked what life has been like since swapping La Liga for the Premier League and Eibar for Newcastle, Lejeune told the Chronicle: “I like to keep active when I’m not playing or training.
“It’s been a bit cold recently but that’s OK. A couple of weeks ago I went to Tynemouth which I really enjoyed.
“I’ve also been to Hadrian’s Wall to do a photo shoot and I have been to Edinburg, which was really good.”
Lejeune has had to adapt from life in Spain to England and while he has maintained some of his habits from his La Liga days, he admits he loves to head into the city centre after training.
He added: “I like to sleep quite a lot, I do this after training. I have always enjoyed my sleep! But I do have a normal life.
“I come home and I spend time with my wife and we’ll watch TV series together. We always like to go to the town and go to the shopping centres. We don’t like to stay indoors too much.
“When we are out a lot of the time the Geordie people come over to say hello. Sometimes they may not approach me but they will give me a little wave and acknowledge me.”
Lejeune has been back at training this week, though, and while the city has enjoyed the buzz of beating Manchester United, he knows the next fixture will prove to be a different test.
He said: “We do have to adapt to games each week because the opponents in this division do vary. All opponents have different game plans and techniques.
“For example, the Bournemouth game will be very different to Man United, there may be some direct balls and we will have to work out how we play it.
“The Bournemouth game would be what I see as a typical English game.”