Newcastle United rounded up their summer transfer business by completing the signing of Christian Atsu on loan from Chelsea.
Atsu’s arrival means Newcastle end the summer with 12 new additions to their squad as Rafael Benitez looks to be take the Toon Army back to the Premier League.
The transfer was confirmed at around 10:45pm on deadline day with the club revealing that the Magpies have an option to sign Atsu on a permanent deal at the end of the season.
The 24-year-old joins United with hope of showing the form that made Chelsea purchase the winger for £3.5million from Porto.
Atsu hasn’t made an appearance for the London club since joining in 2013, but the Ghanaian has had loan spells in the Premier League with Everton and Bournemouth, spells he failed to impress in.
Working with Benitez whilst playing Championship football could prove the perfect opportunity for Atsu to fulfill his dreams of being an established Premier League footballer, if the Magpies can bounce back at the first attempt.
Happy to be here – Atsu
Atsu spoke to NUFCTV following his arrival in the North East, and the Ghana international told that he is “very happy to be at Newcastle.”
The 24-year-old proceeded to call the Magpies “a very big club”. The former Porto player outlined St James’ Park and the Geordie faithful as a big factor in his decision to move to Tyneside.
"St. James' Park is a fantastic stadium with 50,000 fans; the fans here really love football so much and I can't wait to play at this stadium in front of the fans." Atsu said.
And the winger also praised his new manager, Mr Benitez, calling him “one of the best coaches in the world.”
Benitez listens to the fans
An eye-catching quote was Benitez’ reaction to sign Atsu was his acknowledgement of Newcastle fans’ opinions.
Benitez has often taken part in live phone-ins at BBC Newcastle where fans have been heard expressing their views – with the wide area being a common occurrence.
And after signing Atsu, the 56-year-old responded to his fans’ views: "I agreed with our fans that we needed to bring in another winger, so I am very happy to welcome Christian to the Club.
The former Real Madrid boss then spoke of what Astu will bring to Newcastle saying that the 24-year-old “has good ability and pace” and “has a good experience of English football.”
The likes of Matt Ritchie, Yoan Gouffran and Rolando Aarons seen as the Toon’s first choice wingers, Benitez is confident that Astu offers something different to the rest: "He has a different style of play to the other players we have at the moment and that will be important for the squad."