OPINION
Florian Lejeune has had a tough time of things over the past six months or so, with the Newcastle centre-back suffering a serious knee injury in pre-season which put him out of action for the first half of the campaign. The 27-year-old has now managed to recover from his injury and get himself back into contention for Rafa Benitez, who handed him his first start of the season in a 2-1 loss against Chelsea on Saturday. Lejeune could have been forgiven for missing a beat upon his return after so long out of action, but the Frenchman was straight back to his sublime best at Stamford Bridge. Lejeune slotted in seamlessly alongside last season’s partner Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark in a back three, and looked instantly comfortable against a dangerous Chelsea attack. Having a player of his quality become available at this point in the season is a big boost for the Magpies, with the reaction of fans below proving the value of his return to action.
This is Futbol have rounded up some of the best tweets below.
Lascelles looks so good so far and his passing has been amazing. Lejeune really bring the best out of him. Back 3 have looked solid so far. Atsu and perez need to try and support rondon faster though
— Dan Holmes (@DanHolmes1987) January 12, 2019
Lejeune playing like he was never gone and Longstaff looks like he’s been doing this for ages. #Positives #nufc
— NUFC360 (@NUFC360) January 12, 2019
Actually forgot how good lejeune is
— The Gallowgate end (@Nufc_Forever) January 12, 2019
Florian Lejeune has already produced the best defensive and attacking moments for #NUFC so far.
Easy to forget just how much better he is than all of our outfield players, despite being out of Premier League action since May 2018.
— The Toon Network (@TheToonNetwork) January 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/CameronFin1992/status/1084147503929442304
Played well, Longstaff is going to be some player, class performance! Lejeune makes such a difference, tremendous player. #nufc
— DT (@DT3NCH) January 12, 2019
