Soccer-Newcastle sign Spanish striker Joselu from Stoke

Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez said on Wednesday he was delighted to have signed striker Joselu from Premier League rivals Stoke City.

The former Spain Under-21 international, who has also played at Real Madrid, Celta Vigo and Hoffenheim, has signed a three-year deal, with local media reporting the transfer fee at around 5 million pounds ($6.44 million).

Joselu scored four goals in 27 league appearances for Stoke before going on loan to Deportivo La Coruna last season.

"We have known Joselu since his days at the Real Madrid academy, and we know that he has the potential to do well for us," Benitez said in a statement.

"Obviously he has experience of English football and the Premier League and that was another thing we took into consideration.

"We think if we can exploit his full potential he will be a good signing for us."

Joselu joins a host of other close season signings at Newcastle, including Christian Atsu, Florian Lejeune, Jacob Murphy, Javier Manquillo and Mikel Merino.

Newcastle kicked off the new season with a 2-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. They travel to Huddersfield Town on Sunday. ($1 = 0.7760 pounds)

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)