Newcastle have completed the loan signing of former Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb on a deal until the end of the season, with an option to make the deal permanent.
The Algerian international returns to the Premier League after spending the last three-and-a-half years with Schalke, the 25-year-old moving to St James’ Park on an initial temporary deal after falling out-of-favour at the Bundesliga side this season.
The midfielder’s addition will be a welcome boost to Steve Bruce’s injury-hit squad, the Magpies without several first-team stars at present and saw full-back Jetro Willems suffer a cruciate knee ligament injury during the club’s victory over Chelsea last weekend, an injury that will see him miss the rest of the season.
✍️ #NUFC have completed the signing of midfielder Nabil Bentaleb on loan from @s04 until the end of the season with an option to make the deal permanent.
Welcome, @nabilbentaleb42! ⚫️⚪️
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 21, 2020
Bentaleb spoke of his delight at returning to English football following the switch, describing his transfer to the North East as the ‘perfect move’ following a frustrating period at Schalke.
“I’m very happy to come back to the Premier League, especially with a club such as Newcastle,” he told the official club website.
“The project really interested me. I wanted absolutely to come back to the Premier League. The coach had some trust in me and the club also – I saw that straight away – and I think it’s the perfect move for me.”
Bentaleb made 66 appearances during his time with Tottenham before making the switch to Schalke in 2016, scoring just one goal for the north London club, ironically, that goal coming against Newcastle in a League Cup tie in December 2014. He has since scored 19 goals in 97 appearances for Die Königsblauen.
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