The extreme measures a major club just took to keep signing former Newcastle United forward a secret

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Porto went to extreme lengths to keep the fact they had signed former Newcastle United striker Luuk de Jong under wraps. 

De Jong spent only a few unhappy months on loan at Newcastle United in 2014, arriving from Borussia Monchengladbach in January of that year. 

The Dutchman was followed by brother Siem later that summer after his departure, though he endured an equally disappointing spell on Tyneside due to constant injuries.

In total, Luuk made only 12 appearances for the club and left without scoring.

The striker, however, has gone on to enjoy a fine career. De Jong joined PSV Eindhoven from Monchengladbach after leaving Newcastle, and went on to play for Sevilla and Barcelona too.

Now, following a second spell at PSV, he’s joined Portuguese giants Porto.

The Guardian have explained the lengths they went to in order to shock their supporters at his arrival. 

How Porto kept Luuk de Jong a secret

In an age dominated by the likes of Fabrizio Romano, it’s very rare that transfers come as a surprise anymore.

Still, De Jong was announced at Porto’s stadium before they played Athletic Bilbao in a pre-season game earlier this month, much to the surprise of supporters.

According to the report, Porto pulled out all the stops when it came to trying to keep his arrival a secret. 

Club bosses registered De Jong as a professional handball player in the club’s clinic system to avoid suspicion. The doctors and nurses who assessed him had simply no idea he was an international forward.

De Jong was the last to board a plane from the Netherlands to Porto. He was then the first to exit the aircraft and entered a van with tinted windows, which took him to the stadium.

Once at the stadium, he watched from above as his new teammates were greeted by cheering supporters. De Jong then walked into the dressing room just before kick-off to meet his new teammates, who had simply no idea he was coming.

Luuk de Jong regrets his time at Newcastle United

De Jong’s move to Newcastle did not work out, but he did arrive at a difficult time for the club.

Though they ended up finishing tenth under Alan Pardew, they limped along for the second half of the campaign with some truly dire form. 

De Jong may rarely have been the most prolific of strikers around but there’s little doubt the set-up at Newcastle at the time hardly helped.

Speaking in February 2024, De Jong admitted his time at Newcastle left him with regrets. 

“I usually played behind the striker, which is not my favourite position,” he said.

“We were often pushed back very far; I barely got to the goal. I knew that beforehand but you don’t say ‘no’ when you get a chance in the Premier League at such a beautiful, big club. I would have liked to show more.”