AFC Ajax captain Siem de Jong has signed for Newcastle United. Although no official figure has been released by either club, the fee is expected to be in the region of £6m. De Jong signs on a six-year contract with Newcastle, who finished tenth in the Premier League last season.
His brother Luuk de Jong, who currently plays his football with Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach, spent the second half of last season on loan at Newcastle. De Jong has played 244 games in total for Ajax, scoring 78 times. He has also been capped six times by the Netherlands, scoring two goals. He can play either behind the striker or as the striker for any team, meaning he could be lining up alongside Papiss Cisse at St. James Park next season.
De Jong says that he had already talked to his brother about the club, which swayed his decision to join (Quotes from nufc.co.uk):
“It is great to have signed for Newcastle. It is a big club which my brother told me all about, so I already feel good here. I had been at Ajax a long time and wanted a new challenge in a new environment and a new country.
"Coming to Newcastle is a great opportunity and the chance to play for a club like this in the Premier League was one I could not turn down. I am looking forward to starting training and meeting my new teammates and hopefully we can have a successful season.”