Newcastle United goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen has 'no limit' if he understands the 'advantage' of being a proactive goalkeeper during his time in England, according to former Chelsea goalkeeper coach Christophe Lollichon, who coached Jaouen during a loan spell with USL Dunkerque.
Jaouen is set to make his competitive Newcastle United debut on Wednesday when the Magpies welcome West Bromwich Albion to St James' Park in the second round of the Carabao Cup. The 20-year-old joined United from Stade Reims in the summer in a deal worth up to £24million and is expected to play second choice to Lukas Hornicek this season.
Pre-season promise and cup opportunity
The France under-21 international was on the bench during Sunday's 2-2 draw with Liverpool but impressed in pre-season, notably saving two penalties at St James' Park during a penalty shootout defeat to Strasbourg earlier this month. Insiders at Newcastle believe Jaouen has a really bright future in the game and expect him to push Hornicek hard for the number one spot this season.
His first competitive chance to prove his worth should come on Wednesday evening, and Lollichon believes the cup competitions will provide a perfect grounding into the English game, comparing his characteristics to Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
Lollichon's assessment
"Ewen is only 20 so, if the context is positive, I don't know the limit for him. I think the objective of Newcastle is for him to observe the new level in his first season," Lollichon told BBC Sport.
"Ewen was a number one in Ligue 2 last season, but the Premier League is the top. The intensity, the quality of the players, is a big change but Ewen has this ability to observe and adapt very quickly."
"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. In England, except David Raya, there are not necessarily a lot of proactive goalkeepers."
"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."
