Bigrimana keen to link up with Tiote

07 July 2012 08:47

Newcastle new boy Gael Bigirimana is hoping to learn from one of the best in the business as he prepares to join forces with Cheick Tiote.

The 18-year-old midfielder completed his dream move from Coventry to Tyneside on Friday when he put pen to paper on a five-year contract. He is likely to go straight into the development squad, but cannot wait for the moment he gets to work along side Ivory Coast international Tiote.

The Burundi-born teenager told NUFC TV: "Right now, he is one of the best holding midfielders in the world and I can't wait to be under his wing. I just hope that I will learn every day and become close to him as a friend and as a person."

Bigirimana, who is understood to have cost the Magpies around £1milllion, came through the ranks at Coventry after asking for a trial as an 11-year-old and made 28 first-team appearances last season.

However, having watched Newcastle surge into fifth place in the Barclays Premier League from afar, he had little hesitation in accepting their offer of employment when it came along.

He said: "Their style of play is on another level now. For them to beat Manchester United and Chelsea 3-0 and 2-0, it just shows that Newcastle's football has gone to a new level.

"It's a challenge for me to think, 'Wow, they are on fire right at the moment and I am just coming in'.

"But hopefully, I will learn from good players."

Source: PA