How has Florian Lejeune got on since leaving Newcastle?

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Eyebrows were raised in the summer when Newcastle United offloaded Florian Lejeune.

The central defender had spent last term on loan with Deportivo Alaves, after suffering injury problems in the 2019/20 season.

Those issues followed two serious knee injuries for the player.

The move was designed for Lejeune to simply get regular minutes under his belt

And that he did, making 36 appearances across all competitions.

In the eyes of quite a few Newcastle fans, Lejeune was the best defender at the club on paper.

So the decision to sell him to Alaves was questioned, given he had proven his ability to go a season without any issues.

So how has Lejeune got on in 2021/22 after leaving Newcastle permanently to join Alaves?

How Florian Lejeune has done so far since leaving Newcastle

At the time of writing, Alaves currently sit 17th in La Liga, having taken 15 points from their 17 games so far.

They have conceded 24 goals in those 17 games – only three sides have conceded more.

So far, Lejeune has made 11 appearances this season – 10 of those coming in the league.

It hasn’t been a particularly stellar term so far from the 30-year-old.

He has only been a part of one clean sheet for the club so far in La Liga.

That said, he did shine against Barcelona during a 1-1 draw on October 30. On that same day, Newcastle shipped three goals against Chelsea.

But Lejeune has struggled slightly from a disciplinary standpoint. He has picked up six yellow cards already, and against Getafe earlier this month he got sent off.

In Lejeune’s defence, his second yellow right at the end against Getafe for an apparent flailing arm was very harsh.

It is difficult to say whether Newcastle keeping Lejeune would have made them better at the back this term.

He has not exactly flourished since sealing a permanent move to Alaves.

WhoScored have him ranked as only the ninth-best player for Alaves, which is nothing to write home about.

And following the October takeover, one would think/hope that some quality additions will be coming in to boost Newcastle’s survival hopes.