Newcastle United today hailed the arrival of some long awaited defensive reinforcements as Argentinian international Fabricio Coloccini arrived from Deportivo La Coruna. Coloccini has signed a 5 year deal which could cost the magpies upto £10.3m depending on appearances and will wear the number 2 jersey at his new club. Coloccini has so far failes to live upto the hype that saw him move to AC Milan aged just 17 after only playing twice for Argentinian giants Boca Juniors. Since then he has spent 4 seasons out on loan in La Liga before settling for 4 seasons at midtable spanish side Deportivo. Kevin Keegan is hoping he can adapt to the Premier League and finally reach his full potential:

“Fabricio has got tremendous experience and is a full international with Argentina, that tells you he is a player of the very highest calibre. He does not know the Premier League but he knows world football and has played in one of the top leagues, La Liga, for six years now.

He’s a very athletic player, he played every minute in the league for his club last season, and he’s also very versatile. He is a centre-back but can play anywhere across the back four and also in midfield - he gives us massive options.”

Coloccini’s first priority however will be to gain a place in the Argentina starting line up as he currently sits behind Gabriel Milito and Martin Demichelis after years of playing second fiddle to legends Walter Samuel and Roberto Ayala. The bushy haired south american is in line to make his debut against champions Man United possibly marking his compatriot Carlos Tevez.

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