Florian Lejeune

Istres In the summer of 2009, Lejeune joined Ligue 2 club Istres on trial. After impressing in two friendly matches, he was signed to a three-year professional contract and joined the club's reserve team. Lejuene finished the campaign with 14 more appearances in the league playing the entire match in all of them.

Lejeune began the 2010–11 season as a starter and made his season debut in a 4–0 defeat to Ajaccio in the Coupe de la Ligue. In September, he was a surprise inclusion in the France under-20 team. His subsequent uprising into the spotlight and positive play with Istres led to the player being declared one of the best players in Ligue 2, despite only playing in a handful of matches. On 4 January 2011, French newspaper L'Équipe announced that Spanish club Real Madrid was monitoring Lejeune's progress. He was, subsequently, linked to a host of other clubs, notably English clubs Manchester United, Manchester City, and Arsenal and Italian clubs Napoli and Udinese with all the clubs reportedly likening him to former French international Laurent Blanc. However, despite the speculation, club president Francis Collado declared that he had not had official contact with any club linked to the player. The transfer fee was priced at €1 million and Lejeune completed his medical and signed his contract following the conclusion of his participation in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was placed with the club's second team. After appearing in seven matches with the B side, Lejeune made his senior team debut on 6 November 2011 appearing as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Espanyol. In January 2013, he was loaned to Ligue 1 side Stade Brestois 29. It was announced in July 2013 that Lejeune would be loaned out to the newly relegated club for another year.

Girona After his loan with Brest ended, Lejeune signed a two-year deal with Girona FC also in the second level. He was an undisputed first-choice for the Catalans, scoring his first goal on 8 February 2015, in a 1–0 win at CD Tenerife.

Lejeune finished the campaign with 40 appearances and five goals, as his side narrowly missed out on promotion in the play-offs.

Manchester City On 28 August 2015, Lejeune was transferred to Manchester City and immediately loaned back to Girona for one year.

Eibar On 29 June 2016, Lejeune signed a four-year deal with SD Eibar.

Newcastle United On 4 July 2017, Lejeune joined Newcastle United on a five-year contract. In April 2019, he was ruled out of the rest of the 2018–19 season with a knee injury. Lejeune scored both of his first two goals for Newcastle in injury time of a 2–2 draw with Everton on 21 January 2020.

Alavés On 11 September 2020, Lejeune signed for Deportivo Alavés on a one-year loan deal. In July of the following year, he completed a permanent move to the club for an undisclosed fee.

Rayo Vallecano On 29 July 2022, Lejeune joined Rayo Vallecano on a season-long loan. Roughly one year later, Rayo announced his permanent signing on a four-year deal, for a reported fee of €2.5 million.

Career statistics

Honours Rayo Vallecano UEFA Conference League runner-up: 2025–26

Individual UEFA Conference League Team of the Season: 2025–26