Newcastle United have signed goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek from Braga for £25.7m, activating his release clause after he flew out to the club's training camp in Spain to finalise the deal and sign a five-year contract. The 24-year-old Czech Republic international becomes the club's more established new number one, addressing a defensive weakness after Newcastle recorded just eight Premier League clean sheets and conceded 55 goals last season, with existing goalkeepers Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale both struggling.

Hornicek impressed last season by keeping seven clean sheets during Braga's run to the Europa League semi-finals, the most of any goalkeeper in the competition, while also ranking highly for passing among Portuguese top-flight goalkeepers. Standing 6ft 6in tall, he is seen as bringing both physical presence and ball-playing ability, fitting into a wider Newcastle rebuild under incoming head coach Mattias Jaissle that has otherwise focused on recruiting players aged 20 and under.