Czech goalie Horníček joins Newcastle in €30 million transfer
Czech goalie Lukáš Horníček has completed a €30 million transfer from Portuguese side Braga to English Premier League club Newcastle United, signing a five-year contract. The transfer makes the 24-year-old the third most expensive Czech footballer in history.
Horníček, who travelled to Newcastle's training camp in Spain over the weekend, called the move "a fantastic opportunity". He described the past few days as "an emotional roller coaster" and said he was delighted with the outcome.
“I am so happy to be here. I received a great welcome from the team and everyone involved. I already had a chance to meet the lads and it has been a wonderful experience joining this fantastic club.”
According to the BBC, Newcastle had been monitoring the goalkeeper's progress after he kept seven clean sheets during Braga's run to the Europa League semi-finals, the highest total in the competition. Opta statistics also ranked him among the Portuguese league's best goalkeepers in distribution, placing him second for successful passes and fourth for passing accuracy.
Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson praised Horníček's rapid development, describing him as one of Europe's top young goalkeepers. Wilson said the club had expected strong competition for his signature after last season but that the Czech international had made it clear he wanted to join Newcastle.
A product of Pardubice's academy, Horníček joined Braga at the age of 17. Czech sports website iSport.cz reported that Pardubice are entitled to around 15 percent of the transfer fee through FIFA's solidarity mechanism, potentially earning about 100 million crowns.
Czech Radio’s sports commentator Pavel Horvath said the lucrative transfer was well-earned.
“I am so happy for him. This is clearly the result of the outstanding performance he gave for Braga in the recent matches. The progress he has made is admirable. Five-year contracts are not so common - I think they are counting on him in the future and I am certain that he will prove his worth. “
In an interview for the team’s website Horníček said he couldn’t wait to get on the pitch and was looking forward to playing in front of Newcastle's 52,000 fans at St James' Park. He also cracked a joke about his current nickname in Braga –which is Horny – and which no longer seemed suitable in his new cultural environment, adding that he had asked his team mates to just call him Lukáš.
The €30 million transfer fee for Horníček equals that of Czech captain Ladislav Krejčí, whose loan move from Girona to Wolverhampton Wanderers was made permanent earlier this year. Only Patrik Schick's €42 million move from Sampdoria to AS Roma in 2017 and Pavel Nedvěd's €45 million transfer from Lazio to Juventus in 2001 rank higher among Czech players.
