Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa signs five-and-a-half-year deal at United

Defender signs on Newcastle have completed the signing of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa who arrives from Montpellier for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £6.7m.

The 23-year-old has put pen to paper on a five-and-a-half year deal at St James' Park and will wear the number 13 shirt at United.

It's a much needed boost to our defence which has already been swelled by the addition of Mathieu Debuchy at right-back. Yanga-Mbiwa arrives with a high reputation from his time in France and has courted interest from clubs such as Arsenal and AC Milan in recent times so United have done well to get him assuming he can carry on where he left off for Montpellier.

Speaking to the official club website, Yanga-Mbiwa revealed he is honoured to come to Newcastle:

"It is an honour to be able to come to Newcastle United and have the chance to play in the Premier League," said the defender," said Yanga-Mbiwa.

He added: "Newcastle are one of the biggest clubs in the league, and I'm going to try and give everything I have so that the team can do well. I have experienced a lot of positive things so far in my career and one of those is joining this Club."

The French international also revealed that the lure of playing with so many French players at United helped him make the decision to join a side who, in all honesty, are struggling and need to start picking up results.

"here were a lot of other French players here which is something which really helped me since I don't know England too well. It helps me to settle into life here and to get used to football in this country," Yanga-Mbiwa said.

"It attracts a lot of French players and it appeals to a lot of French players because of their style of play and also because of the wonderful team spirit that they have here at Newcastle, which is very good for French players. So I'm really looking forward to coming here and discovering that for myself."

Meanwhile Alan Pardew revealed his pleasure at signing the 23-year-old, insisting that he is the right kind of player with the right kind of personality to fit in at St James' Park.

"We needed to strengthen the team and bringing in Mapou will give the whole squad a boost. He is precisely the sort of player we've been looking to bring to the Club. He is a good age for us but has plenty of experience at club and international level," Pardew told nufc.co.uk.

"Mapou is a talented footballer, good in the air and on the ground and has all the attributes to succeed as a quality defender in the Premier League. He's a good character too and that will be important for us over the next few months," he added.

It's great to finally sign a central defender even though it should have been done in the summer. To be honest I'm surprised we've got him such is the interest that has been shown in him previously by, being honest, bigger clubs than us.

It will of course raise more questions about the future of Fabricio Coloccini and if he leaves we're back to square one, but if he stays we've just strengthened our defence quite nicely. And with more players expected to arrive on Tyneside imminently could it be that we finally have a good transfer window at a time when everyone involved with the club needs a boost?

I hope so...