Emre completes Newcastle move

Newcastle today completed the finalities of Emre’s £3.8m (€5.5m) move from Inter Milan.

The Turkish midfielder has signed a five-year contract at St James’ Park.

Emre, 24, joins former Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker as a summer arrival at Newcastle and is rated highly by Magpies boss Graeme Souness, who first encountered him as a teenager during the Scot’s stint as Galatasaray boss.

Discussing Emre's arrival last week, Souness said: "I am delighted to have him.

“I think he will prove to be a really good player for this football club.

“He is left-footed and I think it is imperative that you have a couple of left-footers in your team to give you the balance. We have two at the moment – I would like three.

“There is a feeling in Turkey that he is the best Turkish player ever.

“When I was there as a coach, he was a young boy, a very young boy and the name kept cropping up.”

A statement from Newcastle to the Stock Exchange today confirmed the deal had been completed.

It read: “The directors of Newcastle United PLC are pleased to announce that agreement has been reached with Inter Milan whereby Newcastle United has purchased the registration of Emre Belozoglu (24) for a fee of €5.5m.

“The player has agreed personal terms and signed a five-year contract ending in June 2010.”

Emre spent four seasons in Italy and was a losing World Cup semi-finalist in 2000 with Turkey.