Newcastle Signs Lukas Hornicek for £25.7m
Newcastle United have made their move for a new number one, completing the £25.7m signing of Lukas Hornicek from Braga on a five-year contract.
The 24-year-old Czech Republic international flew straight to the club’s training camp in Spain over the weekend, where Newcastle triggered his release clause and pushed the deal over the line. By the time the squad returns to Tyneside, Eddie Howe will have the established goalkeeper he has been chasing all summer.
This is not a signing made on potential alone. Newcastle had already brought in 20-year-old Ewen Jaouen from Reims earlier in the window, but the plan was always clear: Jaouen for the future, Hornicek for the here and now.
For Hornicek, the move has hit hard and fast.
“The last few days have been an emotional rollercoaster from when I first heard about the move and now I'm so happy to be here,” he said after sealing the transfer. “It's a brilliant opportunity in a new league, which I'm very excited about. From the very first moment I arrived here, I received a fantastic welcome and really felt the warmth of the club. Everyone has been brilliant in helping me settle in.
“I know Newcastle is a huge football city, with 52,000 fans at St James' Park creating an incredible atmosphere and pushing the team every game. I can't wait to play in front of them.”
Newcastle have not gone in blind. Scouts tracked Hornicek closely as he emerged as one of last season’s standout goalkeepers in European competition. He kept seven clean sheets during Braga’s run to the Europa League semi-finals – more than any other keeper in the tournament.
The numbers behind that run underline why Newcastle were prepared to pay the fee. According to Opta, Hornicek ranked second for successful passes (846) and fourth for passing accuracy (75%) among goalkeepers in Portugal’s top flight last season. He did not just protect the goal; he helped dictate play from the back, the kind of modern profile that fits Newcastle’s attempt to build from deep under Howe.
Inside the club, there is a firm belief they have moved early for one of Europe’s most upwardly mobile young goalkeepers.
“His progress in recent years has been remarkable,” said sporting director Ross Wilson. “He has firmly established himself as one of Europe's top young goalkeepers.
“We knew there would be no shortage of clubs interested in acquiring Lukas this summer after everything he achieved last season, but it quickly became evident how keen he was to be a part of what we are building here.”
That last line matters. Newcastle are not just buying Hornicek’s reach, reflexes and passing range; they are buying into his appetite for the project. A goalkeeper who has already proved he can handle the pressure of European knockout football now walks into a city that lives and breathes the game, a stadium that demands presence as much as shot-stopping.
The fee, the contract length, the data and the pedigree all point in one direction: Newcastle have chosen their new man between the posts. Now the question is simple – how quickly can Hornicek turn that faith into points on the board at St James’ Park?
