Newcastle boss Graeme Souness believes he has purchased France’s next legendary centre-back in Jean-Alain Boumsong. "France feel that he is going to be their first-choice centre-back and we want him to do it for us for years to come," enthused the Scot.

Boumsong, however, is not getting carried away, preferring to speak only about the present. "As a young player, to play in the Premiership is a good challenge," said the former Auxerre stopper. "In my opinion, it’s the best League in the world and it’s very exciting for me to play here. Once I have adapted, I think it will bring the best out of me."

Souness will be hoping that Boumsong’s settling in period is kept to a minimum - at the time of purchase Newcastle possessed the second worst defensive record in the Premiership. Losing Jonathon Woodgate to Real Madrid has certainly played a part in that.

But Souness is confident that he in Boumsong he has the ideal replacement. "Woodgate is a fabulous footballer and we hope Boumsong is in that same bracket," he said.

"He expects to be right up with the best here. It will be good for him to play in the Premiership. He will be tested in this League and he wants to be.

"Our football is more intense than on the continent and in Scotland. But don’t forget he has played against Celtic many times. I know John Hartson didn’t enjoy playing against him and John is possibly the closest there is in style to Alan Shearer."

For many years, Shearer has been the benchmark for English-based defenders - the thought process being that if you can cope with Shearer’s aggression and raw power, you can cope with anything.

Boumsong is hoping to learn as much as possible from the former England captain before he hangs up his boots in the summer. "I’m delighted to have Alan Shearer on my team," he said. "I hope I will improve my game by playing with him in unofficial games and by training with him because he is a very good player."

Rangers boss Alex McLeish fought hard to keep Boumsong, having only signed him last summer from Auxerre. However, he knew the day would come when Rangers would lose Boumsong - even if it did come a little sooner than he would have liked.

Boumsong’s departure was accelerated by the defender losing his place in the France side recently, and McLeish said: "There is no doubt that Scottish football was a risk for him in terms of his international future.

"But I believe he probably saw further down the line the possibilities of doing well here and being snapped up by one of the bigger Leagues, if not in the UK, then certainly in Europe."

Souness says Boumsong’s all-action style will see him win over the Newcastle fans in no time - whilst also tipping him as a future club captain.

"He has a great desire to be the best," Souness explained. "I feel our fans will love having him with us. He knows Newcastle are a very big club and the Premiership is a great League to be involved in. I think he expects to be up there with the best like John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, and Sol Campbell.

"Without knowing Jean-Alain too well he would appear to be a leader on the pitch. You can never have enough leaders. We don't have enough people who get angry when things go wrong on the pitch.

"I want him to show his anger in the proper way when we concede a goal or a decision goes against us. I think when you have leaders on the pitch that encourages other players.

"He is a shouter and an organiser and seems to have all the attributes required for captaincy."

One of the fiercest critics of Newcastle’s leaky defence has been Match Of The Day analyst Alan Hansen, the ex Scotland defended widely regarded as one of the finest centre-backs Britain has produced.

Souness sees similarities between his former Liverpool teammate and Boumsong, saying: "He is quick, strong and good on the ball. Is he like Alan Hansen? He had two of those qualities!

"We see him as having a big influence, short and long term, and we are hoping he’ll help us lose the tag of having the second worst defence in the Premiership."