French defender Florian Lejeune has signed a five-year deal to join Newcastle United, the Premier League club said Tuesday.

The 26-year-old central defender from La Liga club Eibar is Magpies manager Rafael Benitez's second summer signing, for a reported 8.7 million pounds (9.9 million euros).

Earlier in the summer Benitez signed Chelsea winger Christian Atsu, who helped Newcastle win promotion back to the Premier League during a loan spell last season.

Lejeune moves to Newcastle after a long a spell in Spain that started with Villarreal in 2011. He was signed by Manchester City during the summer of 2015 but was immediately loaned out to Girona, before making a permanent switch to Eibar 12 months later.

Said Benitez: "He has progressed a lot as a player in the last few years and I know he will give us something different at the back -- he is good with both feet, he's big and he's good in the air also."