Newcastle Sign Lukas Hornicek: £25.7m Braga Keeper Is Fifth Summer Arrival
The 24-year-old Czech international joins on a five-year deal as Newcastle's heavily reworked squad takes shape ahead of the new season.
Newcastle United have settled the biggest open question of their summer, completing a £25.7m move for Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek on a five-year contract, Sky Sports confirmed on Monday. The 24-year-old Czech Republic international becomes the club's fifth signing of the window.
Why it matters
Goalkeeper had loomed as the position Newcastle most needed to resolve, and they have answered it with a long-term bet rather than a stopgap. According to Goal, the club triggered Hornicek's release clause to get the deal done — a clean, fast piece of business in a window that has been anything but quiet on Tyneside.
"It's a brilliant opportunity in a new league, which I'm very excited about," Hornicek said after signing.
Sporting director Ross Wilson was more expansive: "His progress in recent years has been remarkable and he has firmly established himself as one of Europe's top young goalkeepers."
A rebuilt squad, funded by big sales
Per Sky Sports, Hornicek joins a summer intake that already includes Bazoumana Toure (Hoffenheim, £42m), Aladji Bamba (Monaco, £35.5m), Sean Steur (Ajax, £23m) and Ewen Jaouen (Reims, £18.5m) — roughly £145m committed across five arrivals. The spending has been bankrolled by the departures of Sandro Tonali, sold for £100m, and Anthony Gordon, sold for £69.3m.
That makes this less a spree than a reshaping: younger players, longer contracts, and now a goalkeeper signed through 2031. With the Premier League season around the corner, Newcastle's window has a clear identity — sell established names at a premium, and hand the shirt to the next generation. Hornicek, at 24 and on a five-year deal, is the clearest statement of that plan yet.