Why Newcastle have signed a 'giant' from French second tier

"He's very professional. He's not a guy who speaks all the time - he's very discreet. What I'm saying is a little bit old-fashioned, but he needs to feel love around him."

A pivotal loan and a defining night in Lille

This is a player who has certainly come a long way in a relatively short period of time.

Following a couple of errors, Jaouen was frustrated after losing his position at Dunkerque to the more experienced Adrian Ortola, who was better at playing out from the back.

However, after getting over that initial disappointment, he embraced the chance to learn.

Lollichon soon saw progress after initially encountering a young goalkeeper who was "a little bit scared" about certain changes to his game and his positioning at crosses.

Jaouen went on to impress against top-level opposition in the French Cup and played a key role in Dunkerque's march to the semi-finals in 2024-25.

Not only did Jaouen make a crucial save to deny Jonathan David in normal time in the last-16 win against Lille, the Frenchman also stepped up to take his side's final spot-kick after the tie went to a penalty shootout.

"He's very solid and these two situations show something very important," Lollichon said.

"Firstly, he was in a one-on-one situation and David was waiting for Ewen to go down, but he never gave a solution to him. David tried to chip the ball, but Ewen stayed standing. The pressure was very high yet he was very calm.

"It later went to penalties. We decided to put Ewen as the sixth shooter and he was absolutely clear in his head. When he came to take the penalty, [Lille's former goalkeeper] Vito Mannone tried to dominate the timing of the penalty and Ewen took control.

"Mannone was a little bit surprised because he had a young guy in front of him, but the penalty was unbelievable."

'He could be very interesting'

Jaouen returned to Reims, buoyed, as he embarked on his first full season as a senior number one.

His performances soon caught the eye of Newcastle, who have been tracking his progress for several months.

Head coach Eddie Howe feels Jaouen has a "calmness and presence that belies his age" and believes he can "grow and improve within our environment."

This move - Newcastle's first of the window - signals a shift in approach following a bruising summer in 2025.

After recruiting a number of Premier League proven players last year, Newcastle are looking at more targets on the continent who could flourish in the right hands.

"In England, except David Raya, there are not necessarily a lot of proactive goalkeepers," Lollichon added.

"But Ewen needs to be helped because imagine when you start in a new competition?

"He could play English cup games - that would be a very good start - and will try to secure his position, which is normal.

"If he understands the advantage to play proactively, he could be very interesting."